Is This Real?
by bray
Summary: DeanOC. Starts between the Pilot and Wendigo but then the story continues all the way to the season finale. A young woman's family is murdered by the same thing that has murdered Dean and Sam's mother.
1. Chapter 1: Fresh Ocean Air

Chapter 1: Fresh Ocean Air

A woman with curly, fiery-red hair stepped down off the rather small plane which had carried her from Pennsylvania to Key West. She inhaled deeply. The smell of the ocean was intoxicating. Smiling, she continued forward towards the small building Key West called an airport. Her black suitcase rolled behind her. She entered the building and tried to find her parents and her sister. Eventually she found them standing near the large entrance, searching for her as well.

"Over here!" she called, jumping up and waving to her parents.

Smiling, her sister ran over to her and jumped on her.

"I'm so glad you made it, Amber!" Amber could hear the happiness in her sisters voice.

"I'm so glad you threw out my back before the vacation even started," Amber joked, "How long have the three of you been waiting here?"

Amber's sister looked over at their parents then back at her sister,

"I'd say about a half-an-hour, but for them it's been a half-an-hour too long."

They both laughed.

"I'm so happy to see you, Nikki!"

They hugged,

"C'mon, let's get outta here, the beach is calling our names," Nikki smiled, dragging her sibling over to their parents.

A short cab ride later they were at their hotel facing the ocean.

"The Pier House," Amber read out loud to no one in particular, "gorgeous…"

A large tan building stood three stories tall in front of them which looked like something straight out of Mexico. Palm trees and small bushes surrounded the perimeter of the building, providing a cool place to stand or sit out of the blazing sun. As they stepped out of the cab, the sound of the ocean greeted the small family of four. Amber could hear Bob Marley playing in the distance. She smiled.

There was only one door leading into the small lobby with beautiful photographs of sunsets and ships. A large couch sat facing the window of the lobby. The family was greeted by a bellhop, who offered to take their bags. They happily accepted the offer, placing their suitcases on the cart the bellhop had brought over. Minutes later they had their keys and were on their way to their room on the second floor overlooking the ocean and other tiny islands.


	2. Chapter 2: Premonition

Dean and Sam shall make an appearance in this chapter towards the end. Once again, I do not own the show "Supernatural" or any of the characters from the show. I only own Amber, Nikki, and their parents as of right now. This may turn into a crossover much later in the story.

I believe the song "Rain Fall Down" by The Rolling Stones is a great song and goes along with the second part of this chapter when they are out partying.

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Chapter 2: Premonition/"I'm Dean"

Amber sat out on the large balcony of their room in her royal blue bathing suit, waiting for her sister, Nikki, to finish changing. As she sat waiting, right leg crossed over her left, "Margaretville" played in the tiny outdoor bar beside the beach. She watched the bathers flip onto their backs or their stomachs and the seagulls fly by overhead, calling to their fellow seagulls. The ocean crashed against the shore. A sharp pain in her head pulled her out of her thoughts. The pain caused her to keel over and touch her forehead to her knees.

"Jesus!" she hissed in between short gasps, "oww," she moaned, clutching her head as the pain worsened by the second.

She saw flashes. Images.

_Fire. Blood. Amber ran up very large stairs with green carpeting, skipping two or three at a time. A door with a metal plate with the numbers 303 appeared. The door opens as Amber stands in front of it. Instantly she is hit with intense heat. Flames shoot out of the room. It is her room. The entire room is engulfed in flames._

As soon as the headache and images appeared, they disappeared, leaving Amber concerned and confused. She rubbed her head for a moment then realized someone was standing, no, kneeling, beside her. She looked to her left to see Nikki's concerned face staring back at her.

"Oh my God! Are you Okay! What just happened!" Nikki's wide eyes searched Ambers for some sort of answer.

"I… don't know," Amber replied seriously, confused by what she had just seen, "but I'm fine now. I think it was just the heat getting to me."

"You haven't even been out here for more than ten minutes!"

"I know…I know…I'll be fine," Amber brushed it off, smiling then standing up, stretching.

Nikki looked up at Amber, shaking her head,

"You confuse me sometimes, you know that," she laughed.

"Yeah, I know, you tell me that all the time," the laughed.

"C'mon, let's get out there while we still have time!"

"Nikki, I don't think the sun is going anywhere anytime soon, we have, like, five hours," Amber laughed as Nikki drug Amber out of the hotel room, both of them wrapped in towels.

Later that afternoon, after showering, Nikki and Amber strolled out of their rooms dressed in bikini-like shirts that tied around their necks and back. The part that covered their breasts had padding to hide their girls, but the bottom half was see-through and sequined. Amber's top was an emerald color and showed off her perfectly toned arms, shoulders, back and stomach and Nikki's was a royal Blue. Nikki was also wearing a pair of denim shorts that clung to her hips. Amber had on a short black skirt, which showed off her toned legs.

Music was blaring out of the hundreds of pubs that lined the streets. They strutted down the street laughing and carrying on until they came to an Irish Pub called Sloppy Joes. Amber drug her sister in by her upper arm, laughing,

"Lets go!"

Amber pulled her sister up to the actual bar and they each sat down in a stool.

"What can I get you ladies?"

A young, good-looking bartended asked. Amber was startled by his good looks. She stuttered,

"Uh…Um…I'll take a Blue Island, it's my twenty-second birthday!" she smiled, leaning forward on the bar.

"Make that two Blue Islands," Nikki responded, smiling.

"And your phone number!" Amber whispered into her sister's ear as the bartender walked away to fetch their drinks.

Amber and Nikki laughed as the bartended returned with their drinks, placing them in front of the giddy young women. He smiled, winking at Amber. After he walked away, Nikki turned to Amber with a huge grin on her face,

"C'mon, ask him for his number!"

"No! No, I can't!" Amber smiled.

"Why not!"

"Well…it's just….I can't! I don't trust guys," Amber's smiled faded.

"Oh, C'mon, you know Patrick was just a jerk! Not all guys will cheat on you or lie to you about where they are going!" Nikki shot back.

"Rain Fall Down" by The Rolling Stones came on in the Irish Pub and quite a few people stood up and began dancing on the dance floor.

"Let's dance," Amber changed the subject and quickly hopped out of her seat, drink in hand, and quickly walked to the dance floor.

"Amber!" Nikki huffed and hopped out of her seat, walking to catch up to Amber.

As Amber walked towards the dance floor, she ran into a man who had just turned to walk towards the bar. Amber squeaked as some of her drink spilled on her. She held the drink in her right hand as she began swiping at her shirt with her left.

"I'm sorry," the man said.

His voice was warm and tough at the same time, which she didn't think could be possible. Amber looked up at the man, but was taken back by how…gorgeous…he was. His hair was dirty blonde and spiked up. His jaw and cheekbones were defined and his lips were,

"Perfect," Amber whispered, "oh, no, it's already, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," she smiled.

Hazel eyes stared back at her, dancing in the dim lights of the Irish Pub. He held out his hand,

"I'm Dean."

Amber smiled and grasped his hand firmly in her right after switching the drink from her right to left hand,

"Amber."


	3. Chapter 3: Was That Her?

I think "Rain Fall Down" by The Rolling Stones would also fit this chapter or "Temperature" by Sean Paul.

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Chapter 3: "Was That Her?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Dean," Amber smiled.

Dean smiled his devilish, yet charming, smile once again.

"Let me buy you another drink."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary, it's my fault, and I should have been paying attention to where I was walking."

"I should have been too, plus you didn't even spill my drink, so, please, let me buy you another drink," Dean raised an eyebrow waiting for her response.

Amber hesitated before replying,

"Alright…sure, why not."

"Wait here, I'll be right back with your drink," he grinned at her right before disappearing into a crowd of people dancing.

Dean walked over to the bar where Sam just so happened to be sitting. Sam had been watching the entire thing,

"Was that her?" he asked, staring at Amber.

"Yep, that's her alright."

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"I'll figure something out," Dean grabbed the drink he had just ordered, "see ya."

Dean came up from behind and handed Amber her drink, she looked down at his hand, and then up at him, then smiled,

"Thank you."

Nikki came up behind Amber,

"Oh, there you are!"

Nikki smiled up at Dean.

"I'm Nikki, Amber's sister," she grinned seductively.

Dean raised an eyebrow at both the comment and the smile, grinning back. He held out his hand,

"Dean."

They shook hands. Amber was about to say something to Dean when her sister squealed and pulled her towards the dance floor. Amber shrugged at Dean, who smiled, as Nikki pulled her towards the dance floor. An upbeat song was playing. Instantly they began dancing to the beat and soon they became submerged into the group of people surrounding them. Little did Amber know Dean and Sam were watching them. Dean's attention was on Amber 100 the entire night.

"Look at her," Dean nudged Sam.

"Her? Amber or…what was her sister's name?"

"Nikki," Dean responded, "and I meant Amber."

"What about her?"

"Dude, you seriously need to learn how to have fun," Dean criticized.

"Dean, it's only been a few months since…" Sam trailed off, knowing his brother would know what he meant.

"Look at her, she's so hot," Dean was not even paying attention to what Sam had said, he could only look at the red-haired, curvaceous woman in front of him, "I'm glad dad sent us to take care of this job."


	4. Chapter 4: It Ends Tonight

I'm not terribly good at describing people, though I do give it a try. I kind of picture Amber to look like the girl on the front cover of this book I own. If you go to and click on images, type in "A Great and Terrible Beauty" and you'll find hundreds of pictures of the front cover of the book.

I think the song "I Grieve" by Peter Gabriel works well towards the end of this chapter.

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Chapter 4: It Ends Tonight

That entire week Nikki and Amber continuously bumped into Dean and his brother, Sam, every place they went. The first two days were not planned, at least Amber and Nikki never planned the meetings, but after having ran into them so many times, Amber and Dean made plans to meet every night at a bar to have a few drinks. On the fourth night, two days before Amber and Nikki were to leave, Dean and Amber walked the beach. Amber was laughing despite the nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen. She had another one of her headaches the previous day and saw more of the vision. Her mother on fire on the ceiling, blood gushing out of a wound on her stomach.

They sat down on the sand, facing the ocean, still laughing at something Dean had said. They were intoxicated and awfully close to one another. Dean suddenly grasped her shoulder and turned her towards him. Amber jumped slightly at his touch, but then relaxed after a moment. Amber noted that he was leaning in towards her until his lips were only a half-an-inch away from hers. She could feel his warm breath on her skin, sending shivers up and down her spine. She could smell the beer in his breath. She could not deny that she was attracted to Dean, but she could not allow herself to fall in love. She could not subject herself to the pain of another relationship.

"Dean…we can't…_I_ can't do this," Dean leaned in closer, "Dean..I ca….owwwww," suddenly she felt the sharp pain in her head again.

Dean quickly leaned back as Amber keeled over, grasping her head in pain.

"Shit! Amber!" Dean touched her back and leaned in close to her face, "What is it!"

_Fire. Amber's mother on the ceiling. Blood._

It all seemed too real now. As quickly as the pain had come, it had gone. Amber sat up for a minute, looked around her realizing where she was. She looked over at a concerned Dean.

"What the Hell was that?"

"I've just been…getting these….headaches, it's nothing," she played it off.

"Nothing my ass, what's wrong?"

"I think it's just the heat."

"Amber…"

"Seriously, I'm fine now, stop worrying," she smiled, "but I think I should go," she stood up and walked away without saying goodbye to a confused Dean, who had finally decided to stand up.

Amber ran up the stairs of the hotel, all the way to the third floor. Something was wrong, she could feel it. Amber ran full speed down the hall towards her room. She got to the door and did not hear anything, but that is when she felt it. Heat. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Quickly she threw open the door, allowing it to slam up against the wall. Fire had engulfed the room, but Amber still ran into the room. She stood in front of the two queen size beds and looked around. Something hit her in the head, something wet. Amber brought her fingers up to her head and when she brought them back down to her face so she could observe, she saw that it was blood that had landed on her.

Amber looked up, something she wished she never did. Amber screamed and stumbled backwards, tripping over something hard, her sister and her father's lifeless feet, and landing on her butt.

"Mom!" Amber cried, looking up at her mother's lifeless body on the ceiling, tears streaming down her warm cheeks.

She held her hand out in front of her trying to will away the flames licking at the walls of the room. Something in that room was keeping her from using her powers, which she had hidden from everyone in her family. They were not fully developed and at first she did not know what was wrong with her, but soon she found herself submerged in books on witches and white and black magic. Amber did not move after that, all she could do was stare at her mother's lifeless body on the ceiling, despite the fire raging in the room. The weird thing was that it never once came near her, like someone had been controlling it. She did not know how long she had sat staring up at them. Suddenly she heard her name being called and not long after that, she felt someone wrap strong arms around her and pull her to her feet and towards the door,

"Nooo!" she cried and screamed, reaching, with both hands, towards the room and her family, "No, let me go!"

Her savior did not respond, only pulled her harder as she tried pulling out of his grasp,

"No, mom!" she continued to scream until they made it to the stairs at the end of the long corridor.

At that time firemen had begun to poor into the burning building, carrying their hoses. As soon as Dean's foot touched the first step, Amber had stopped screaming. She went limp and allowed him to take her towards the exit of the building. Amber could hear nothing that went on around her. Everything seemed to be moving so slowly from that point on. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Once they made it outside, Dean placed her on the sidewalk beside the Chevy Impala parked along the street, his brother standing on the passenger side.

As soon as Dean sat Amber down, she saw that as an opportunity to run towards the building to try and save her family, which she knew in the back of her mind, was dead. Just as she made it to the entrance, Dean not far behind, firemen exited the building carrying three stretchers, one for each member of her family she had failed to save, covered in white sheets. Just as they came out, Dean had grabbed her shoulder roughly and turned her towards him,

"Don't look, don't look," Dean whispered softly into her ear as she grasped his leather jacket, burying her face into his right shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck, "don't look…" he trailed off, watching as the firemen carried the burnt bodies out of the hotel.

Amber sobbed into his shoulder,

"Shhh," he rubbed her back gently.

Dean remembered the night he had lost his mother. He remembered the fire, the heat, carrying his baby brother out of the room. He felt a pang of sorrow. He knew she was not safe, at least not yet and from that moment on he vowed to protect Amber any way he could, even if it meant his death.


	5. Chapter 5: I Have Nowhere To Go

Chapter 5: "I Have Nowhere to Go"

What seemed like _hours_ after Dean "rescued" her; a paramedic approached Dean, who was still holding sobbing Amber while rubbing her back gently trying to calm her, and Sam.

"Excuse me, I wanted to examine Miss…?"

"Imperiali," Dean answered for a still sobbing Amber.

"Miss Imperiali, if you would follow me to the ambulance, we will take you over to the hospital to be examined."

Dean pushed her fiery-red hair behind her ear,

"Come on, lets get you checked out," he whispered gently into her ear before lifting her in his strong arms, "Sam, follow us in the car," Dean told Sam, tossing him the keys with his right hand, Sam catching them in his left.

Dean rode with Amber and the paramedic to the hospital. She did not speak, nor did she look, at anyone while in the ambulance, she only stared blankly out the window as Sam followed them in the impala. Dean never took his eyes off of Amber during the entire ride to the hospital. She had not spoken since the incident, but half-way to the hospital she had stopped sobbing, but tears still rolled down her cheeks, her eyes blood-shot and puffy.

The ambulance parked directly in front of the Emergency Room entrance and exit as they pulled the stretcher out of the back of ambulance with Amber still lying on it. Dean walked beside the stretcher until they took her back to be examined. Dean had tried to talk them into letting him go back, but because he was not family, he was not allowed back.

The first fifteen minutes he paced in the waiting room, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. Sam watched Dean, never having seen him act like that. The pink walls and cushions of the seats seemed to make Dean a little more anxious. The pink of the walls were a façade. It was like they were trying to make the hospital seem like a happy place, but in fact, Dean had never seen anyone happy in a hospital.

Finally Dean collapsed in a chair besides Sam, huffing, placing his face in his hands. Dean looked up at the ticking clock on the wall, which read 2:17 in the morning. He grunted and leaned back in his seat. Sam was giving Dean this weird look,

"Dude, you alright? I've never seen you act like this," Sam commented, yawning shortly afterwards.

"I know we were sent here to protect her, but I didn't think we would have to protect her from the same thing we are trying to find," he started to whisper after receiving a strange look from one of the woman in the waiting room.

Before Dean could even reply the doctor entered the waiting room. Dean instantly stood up,

"How is she?" he asked, approaching the doctor, Sam stood behind Dean.

"She has inhaled some of the smoke from the fire, so she will be coughing a lot, but she may leave, we are in the process of getting her release forms," the doctor informed Dean and Sam, "If you'll just follow me," the doctor motioned for Sam and Dean to follow them.

"How is she other than that?" Sam asked before Dean could ask.

"She has not said a word to anyone since we brought her here," the doctor said sadly.

Dean shot Sam a glance and Sam nodded, knowing how she must have felt. They walked down this long corridor with rooms on each side containing elderly patients and young patients. Finally they came to Amber's room at the end of the hall. The doctor went in first and told her that he was getting her release forms then he exited, allowing Dean and Sam to enter the room.

Amber was lying in the hospital bed, fully clothed. Her hair hung flat down around her shoulders, down to her hips. Her green eyes were dull as she stared down at her hands, which were folded on her lap. Dean was startled by how she looked. The first day they met, she was so full of life, dancing for hours on end with her sister. He did not like seeing her so lifeless, but what could someone expect from someone who lost their entire family in the course of a night.

She looked up Dean and Sam, her eyes red and puffy from crying. The moment she looked up them, she began to cry again. Sam looked over at Dean, who had begun to walk towards Amber's hospital bed, pulling her into a hug, rubbing her back like he did after he carried her out of the resort.

"Shh," he whispered gently, "shhh."

After a few moments Dean spoke up,

"Is there anyone I can call for you?"

Amber looked up and looked him in the eye,

"There's no one," she cried, "there's no one here, there's no one in Italy, I'm alone! I have nowhere to go!" she cried, Dean pulled her back into a hug.

"Shhh. I'm sorry, shh," he whispered soothingly.

Before he even had a chance to really think about it, Dean blurted out,

"You can come with us."


	6. Chapter 6: On The Road

I think I will eventually write a SamOC.

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Chapter 6: On The Road

"Can I speak with you for a minute?" Sam asked sharply.

Dean released Amber and stood up, following Sam out of the room.

"_Dean_! Seriously, are you sure you want her to come with us? Think about it, man. How are we going to keep our 'job' a secret if she comes with us?"

"I don't know, man! I'll think of something," he whispered out in the hall, "maybe we should just tell her. The way I see it, she's one of us, if you know what I mean," Dean looked over his shoulder into the room then back at his brother.

"I don't know how she would handle that…the truth. It might be a bit much for her now," Sam whispered sharply, "I mean, I don't think she'll handle the part about how our father sent us down here to protect her and her family for some reason or another, yet we failed at saving her family. How do you think she would react to knowing that we were basically stalking her this past week?"

"I know what you're sayin', but we still need to protect her!" Dean insisted.

"Dean!"

"Sammy, she's coming with us and that's the end of it!" Dean threw up his hands then proceeded to walk back into Amber's room.

"It's Sam!" Sam almost shouted to Dean.

Twenty minutes later the release forms were signed and Dean and Sam were on the road with Amber. She sat in the back of the black Impala, admiring how nice they kept it. Amber sat slumped in the back seat, behind Sam who sat in the passenger seat.

"Get some sleep," Dean had told Amber as he held the passenger seat down for her so she could climb in.

To be honest, she highly doubted she would be able to sleep that night or the next night because of everything that had happened. Too many thoughts were running through her mind from earlier that evening. Around either in the morning they were close to four hours into their drive to Blackwater, Colorado (A/N: you'll see where I'm going with this). Dean still drove, but was now humming along to a Metallica song that was playing softly on the radio. The entire ride, Dean and Sam would periodically glance back at Amber, and though she noticed, she did not look at them, she just continued to stare blankly out the back window at the road, houses and trees.

Dark circles became darker and darker and her eyes grew puffier by the hour. It was not like her to go without sleep. Even though she had not slept for over 24 hours, she still was not feeling tired.

"How ya doin' back there," Dean turned slightly in the driver's seat, gripping the wheel with his left hand, to look at Amber.

Dean's question snapped Amber out of her thoughts and brought her back to reality, but only for a few moments. The only thing she could think of to do was nod at that moment then turn to stare back out the window. Dean turned back around in his seat and received a slap upside the head from Sam.

"Ow, Jesus, what the hell was that for!" he yelped.

Sam shot Dean a look, a look that would have killed Dean instantly if looks could kill. He mouthed the words,

"How ya doin'?" motioning with his hands.

"Bitch," Dean muttered under his breath.

"Hoe," Sam muttered in response.

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An hour later they found themselves at a diner in the middle of nowhere. Sam held down the passenger seat for Amber to climb out. As she climbed out, Sam grabbed her upper arm to keep her from tripping on the black seatbelt. As they entered the diner, the bell on the door jingled, drawing everyone's attention to the doorway, but only for a few moments. As they stood there, an older woman with bleach blonde hair and bright red lipstick came up to them,

"Booth or table?" she asked, grabbing three menus off the counter behind her.

Dean looked up and Sam and down at Amber, both of them shrugged,

"Booth?" Amber spoke up for the first time in hours.

"Booth," Dean smiled at the older woman.

"Right, follow me right this way," the older woman spun on her bright red heels, leading them towards a booth on the right side of the building. Amber slide in first, crossing her jean-clad legs under the table and placing her slender hands on the top of the table. Dean slid in beside her and Sam sat across from them. The woman handed each of them a menu,

"Thank you," each of them replied as they were handed a menu.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" the older woman smiled at them, revealing red lipstick on her off-white teeth.

"A water please," Amber asked while staring out the window beside her.

Trees obstructed her view. She shuddered, turning away from the window and looking down at the menu that sat, unopened, on the table in front of her. She hated the woods, even though she had grown up in Blackwater Ridge, Colorado, all her life. Late one night she had a bad experience. She had been only ten at the time, but she was out in the woods around midnight and as she sat on a log, she heard a ghostly voice coming from all directions, whispering, no, pleading, for her to help them.

"Amber?" Dean tapped her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts. She shuddered,

"Huh?" she shook her head a few times to clear her thoughts then looked at Dean.

The waitress was staring at Amber, holding up a pad of paper, ready to take her order. Amber handed the waitress her menu while saying,

"I'm not really hungry,"

"Alright dear, how about you?" she asked, turning to Sam.

"You should really eat something," Dean said.

"Dean, please, I really appreciate your concern, but I'm just not hungry right now," she turned her head and peered back out the window, clouds drifting by over the tall trees.


	7. Chapter 7: Home Sweet Home

Chapter 7: Home Sweet Home

After a few days of driving and sleeping at cheap hotels, they had finally made it into the town of Blackwater Ridge, Colorado. Amber had barely spoken a word to anyone the entire journey back to her hometown and she had eaten less than a bird. Trees. That was all they had seen for the past six hours. Amber was familiar with the area,

"Dean, if you would like, I could take it from here, I'm familiar with the area and I don't know how you feel about backseat driving," Amber spoke up, saying more than she had the past two days.

"Sorry, sweetheart, no one drives this car but me, not even Sammy," Dean patted the steering wheel as if he was patting a dog on the head.

About an hour later they were at her house. The 67' Chevy Impala made a right down a shady path, trees on each side of the road. About a half-a-mile down the road sat a house, which appeared very tiny from a distance. The tires rolled across the gravel, crunching as it rolled. Amber loved that sound. The Impala came to a stop about 8 feet from the three story, white, wooden home. Each of them climbed out of the car, groaning as they stretched, arms reaching towards the heavens. With Amber's head thrown back, her hair reached the bottom of her butt.

Amber hesitantly walked up the rickety stairs to the front door of her home. She dug into her pocket for a house key, but remembered it had been devoured by the fire. She pulled her hand out of her pocket,

"What?" Dean asked when he heard Amber groan.

"I don't have the key, it's still in Key West," she rubbed her forehead with her left hand.

Dean was about to say something else when Amber walked over to the large glass window beside the wooden door, lifted her right leg and kicked the window. Glass shattered all over the front porch. Dean looked over at Sam, who grinned,

"Well, I guess that takes care of the key problem," Dean mumbled as Amber began to climb through the window.

Dean rushed over to help her into her living room. She grasped his strong upper arm as she climbed over the windowsill. She hopped down off the windowsill and walked over to the door and opened it form Sam and Dean. They stepped inside.

Directly in front of them, against the right wall, was a wooden staircase, leading to the second floor. At the top of the stairs stood a long hallway, leading to her parents' bedroom. Beside the first stairs on the second floor, was another set of stairs leading to the third floor, Amber and Nikki's room. Beside the first set of stairs was another shorter hallway leading back to the kitchen and back porch. The house seemed like a maze. To their left was a doorway leading into the dark living room. The wall facing the doorway held a large, stone fireplace filled with wood. On top sat pictures from various vacations and her parents' wedding years and yeas before.

Facing the fireplace was a large, forest green sofa and beside that was a couch with a footstool of the same color. A wooden coffee table sat in front of the couch, magazines and books neatly stacked on the top at each end. The magazines were mostly old Shape, Fitness, Vogue and Lucky magazines. She had applied at Vogue, as a photographer, weeks before the trip, but had not heard anything from them yet.

Dean and Sam looked around the house from where they were standing,

"Uhh...yyyeeeahh…so this my house," Amber bit her bottom lip, "make yourselves comfortable," Amber walked into the living room and turned to Sam and Dean, "I can take your jackets if you'd like," she motioned to the coat hanger next to the bookshelf in the corner.

"I'm good," Dean and Sam replied.

"How about something to drink?" Amber shrugged.

"Some water?" Sam asked.

"Sure, right this way," Amber smiled, opening the glass door with a forest green curtain hanging on it, and leading them into the kitchen.

In the center of the kitchen stood a large wooden table that could seat up to ten guests. A large counter lined the back way and side wall, cabinets two feet above the counter tops. An old-fashioned refrigerator sat at the end of the counter next to the oven. The kitchen was painted white with white cabinets and white wooden counters. To the right of the doorway was a green door leading to a large closed porch. Amber fetched them their water then headed up to her room on the third floor.

Amber climbed out of the shower in her bathroom and climbed into a pair of pajama shorts and a t-shirt. Her long hair was knotted. She walked into her room and sat down at the stool in front of her mirror, picking up the black brush which sat parallel to the mirror. A silver remote with gray and green buttons sat to the right of her right hand. She picked it up and pressed the power button, turning on the CD player on the nightstand to the right of her full size bed. The CD began playing,

"Your subtleties they strangle me

I can't explain myself at all

And all it wants

And all it needs

Oh, I don't want to need at all

The walls start breathing

My minds unweaving

Maybe it's best you leave me alone…"

Amber smiled sadly, starting to brush through her hair with no luck. She struggled, tugging and pulling at it, tearing through it, ripping some hair out.

"..A weight is lifted

On this evening

I give the final blow

When darkness turns to light

It ends tonight, it ends tonight…"


	8. Chapter 8: Who Are You, Really?

Chapter 8: "Who are you, really?"

The wind blew the leaves on the trees gently. Some spiraled down landing gently on the forest floor on top of the other decaying leaves. The wind seemed to whisper gently as it rustled the leaves. The night air was cool as Amber sat on the back porch, fingering a golden charm attached to the bottom of a gold necklace. She held the necklace tight, as if she was afraid to drop it because if she did, it would vanish forever. Beside her foot sat a steak knife. She carried it with her when she went outside at night, still terribly frightened of the darkness surrounding her. She flipped open the locket she held in her hands and was greeted by a picture of her sister on the left and her parents on the right. She smiled then placed her right hand over her mouth to stifle a sob.

Amber placed her head in her hands and let it all out, everything that she had been bottling up for the past couple of days. As she sat there, she did not hear Dean step onto the back porch, nor did she feel his presence. It was not until he sat down that she knew anyone was out there. She did not stop crying, even as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. This time he did not try to calm her down, he allowed her to cry.

After what seemed like an eternity, she sat up and wiped her eyes,

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice hoarse.

"Don't be," Dean said.

"I can't believe they are gone, you don't understand how I feel," Amber began.

"I do, I do understand," Dean whispered.

"You? Understand? You don't know how I feel!" she said angrily.

"Maybe not what it's like to lose my _entire_ family, but I lost my mom, when I was a kid," Dean defended himself, "She died the same way your family died, on the ceiling, her stomach…" he looked away from her, at the very moment he relived that childhood moment in his head.

Amber felt terrible for what she had said to him, but she was so upset she did not think.

"Dean, I'm sorry," she touched his shoulder.

He did not respond, only looked down at the wooden porch. That is when he noticed the steak knife.

"What's this for?" he picked it up,

"I…I'm afraid to be out here alone," she smirked.

"Have you ever thought of mace…or a gun," Dean laughed, "or have you actually run into a giant steak out here?"

Amber laughed.

"Do cows count?"

Dean laughed. As he was about to speak, his phone beeped. They both jumped at the sudden high-pitched sound.

"What is it?" Amber asked.

Dean pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and flipped it open,

"It's a text," he pressed a button on the phone, "from dad."

Amber furrowed her eyebrows as she watched him read the text message.

"I'll be right back," Dean stated as he quickly got up and went inside to find Sam.

Amber sat completely confused for a moment then got up and decided to follow him. When they weren't in the living room, she decided to creep upstairs to the guest room, where she said they could stay until they were completely rested. She stopped just outside of their room.

"He sent you coordinates? When?" She heard Sam ask.

"Just now," Dean stated.

"So what are they?"

"35-111," Dean responded.

"And that is…?"

"Here," Dean responded, "at least, somewhere near here."

"You know, maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon," Sam said.

"Sam, we dug around there for a week, we came up with nothing, if you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica…"

"We have to find Dad first," Sam finished.

"Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after twenty years," Dean paced, "it's no coincidence. Dad will have answers, he'll know what to do."

"It's weird, man, these coordinates...there's nothing here, just woods, why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?" Sam sat on the edge of the bed, placing his head in his hands.

That is when Amber decided to step in,

"That's where you're wrong, there are canyons, dense forests and abandoned silver and gold mines," she crossed her arms, "Who _are_ you two, really?"


	9. Chapter 9: I'm Coming With You

Alright, so once again, I do not own Dean, Sam or any of the other characters you may recognize from the show. I also don't own _some_ of the conversations between Dean and Sam that you recognize from the show.

-------------------

Chapter 9: "I'm Coming With You"

Dean and Sam both spun around to face a red-faced Amber. Sam and Dean were both white as a ghost.

"Answer me!" Amber demanded, crossing her arms.

Dean sighed, nodding at Sam,

"Sam and I are looking for our father. Our father sent us to find and protect you," Dean began, receiving a confused look from Amber.

"Protect me?" Amber began, "from what?"

"That thing that attacked your family….and ours."

"Wait, so you knew it was going to attack!" Amber practically yelled, "Yet you never said anything!"

"Amber, we knew it was going to attack, but we thought it was going to attack you, not your family. That's why we bumped into each other everywhere we went, we were watching you, making sure nothing happened to you. It's our job to hunt down evil and kill it, as well as protect the people involved."

"You _hunt_ evil?" Amber laughed.

"I know you know that what happened wasn't natural, your mom on the ceiling…" Sam stood up.

"Our mom died the same way, but twenty years ago," Dean stated.

"I know you may think we're crazy," Sam began.

"I…I don't think you're crazy," Amber's anger dissolved and she stopped yelling, "I believe you."

"You believe us?" Dean did not think he heard her correctly.

"Yes, I believe in demons and ghosts," Amber stated.

"We hunt demons, ghosts, witches, skin walkers, black dogs and whatever else you can think of," Sam stood next to his brother.

"So you know what killed my family?" Amber asked, full of hope.

Dean walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder,

"What don't know yet, but we will find out and I swear, I will kill that son of a bitch," Dean stated matter-of-factly.

"So, your father sent you coordinates and the place is…here?" Amber looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah."

"So, it's going to attack here?" she shivered.

"No, not exactly here, but near here, it's actually in the woods, near the old mines marked down on the map," Sam stated, picking up the map.

"Lost Creek Wilderness Area…and it's not going to be the thing that attacked you, we think our father might be there."

"I could take you guys there first thing in the morning, it's about 15 to 20 miles from here," Amber took in all the information just given to her.

"No, we'll find it on our own, you take it easy," Sam told her.

"No! I'm coming with you! There's no way in Hell I'm staying here by myself!" she said, eyes wide, "if that thing is still out there, I don't want to be alone!"

Dean nodded at Sam,

"Fine."

Amber sighed,

"Thank You," Amber nodded at Dean.

"Now get some sleep, we've got a long day," Dean told her, yawning on cue.

The next morning they found themselves at a ranger station near Lost Creek Wilderness Area. It was not too hard to find. The pulled up to the log cabin, the song "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner pouring out of the speakers of the impala. Dean parked the impala beside the set of stairs. Dean climbed out of the driver's side wearing his biker boots, blue jeans, leather jacket and grey t-shit. His dirty blonde hair was messy from not brushing it when he woke up. Sam climbed out wearing an olive colored t-shirt was a kaki colored jacket on top with a pair of jeans and boots. Amber climbed out on Sam's side, stretching as she got out. Yawning, her "Rolling Stones" t-shirt lifted slightly to reveal a perfectly toned stomach and a bellybutton piercing. Her blue jeans hung low on her curvy hips. She wore a pair of black and white checkered vans on her tiny feet.

"Do you guys _always_ get up this early?" Amber yawned, brushing her waist-length red hair over her shoulder and out of her face.

"Told ya you'd need sleep," was Dean's response.

Smirking, Amber followed Dean and Sam up the set of stairs towards the open entrance. Dean and Sam looked around the building when they entered. Photographs hung on the wall and a large map sat in the center of the room. Sam instantly walked over to the map, Amber following closely behind,

"So, like you said, there are dense forests, abandoned coal mines…"Sam pointed to the bottom of a mountain on the map.

"There are al.."

Amber was cut off by Dean, who stood by a photograph hanging on the wall, hands in his pockets,

"Dude, check out this size of this freakin' bear!"

"...also a dozen or so grizzly bears roamin' around," Amber finished, walking over to Dean, Sam behind her.

"It's no nature hike," Dean added.

The photograph was of a man standing beside a rather large bear. Amber jumped as a man spoke behind them,

"You guys aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" the ranger asked.

Amber was about to speak, but Dean and Sam instantly cut her off,

"Oh, no sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just workin' on a paper," Sam spit out.

"Recycle man!" Dean added stupidly.

Amber elbowed Dean in the back. He stiffened and shot her a look,

"Bull!" the ranger said, "you're friends with that…Hailey, girl."

Dean cocked his head to the side, thinking for a moment,

"Yes."

"Well, you tell her that her brother filled out a back-country permit stating that he would not be back from Blackwater until the 24th, so he's not exactly a missing person," the ranger said.

Amber stood behind the brothers, watching with amazement how easily they could lie.

"Well, uh….ranger….Wilkinson," Dean squinted at his name tag, "it would help if I could get a copy of that back-country permit so I could show her her brother's return date," Sam rolled his eyes at the last part.

"Sure, whatever will keep her from trying to file a missing persons report even though he is not missing," the ranger sighed, walking to grab the paper to copy.

"That Hailey girl, well she's quite a pistol, huh?" Dean grinned.

"That's putting it mildly," the ranger said while copying the paper behind the desk.

The ranger walked over and handed Dean the paper after circling the return date in red ink,

"You show her that date," the ranger said, turning and walking towards the back room.

"Thank you, sir," Amber added before turning and leaving with Dean and Sam.


	10. Chapter 10: Information

Chapter 10: Information

Amber jumped off the second to last step, following Dean and Sam to the impala.

"Are you cruisin' for a hook-up?" Sam asked, walking quickly to the car.

"What do you mean?"

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge!" Sam said, annoyed, "so what are we waiting for, let's go find dad! Why do we even need to talk to that girl?"

"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it!" Dean unlocked the impala and just as he was about to climb in, he stood up again and leaned against the side of the door, "Since when are you all shoot first, ask questions later anyway?"

Sam was standing in front of the car door, so Amber cleared her throat, trying not to interfere with their little argument. Sam pulled open the door and allowed Amber to climb in,

"Thank Sam," Amber smiled, climbing into the back.

"Since now," Sam said, climbing in and slamming the door on Dean.

"Really?" Dean asked, smirking and climbing in, starting the car.

"So, where are we heading now?" amber asked from the backseat over the loud Metallica music.

Dean reached for the radial knob and turned the music down a fraction.

"To that girl, Hailey's, house," Dean replied.

"To find out…?" Amber asked.

"To find out where her brother was when he supposedly went missing," Dean told her, turning to look at her once before turning to look back at the road in front of them.

"…And to try and hook up with her," Sam added, shaking his head.

"..Oh.."Amber felt her heart sink for a fraction of a second.

Dean elbowed Sam in the side,

"Shut up!" Dean rolled his eyes as he continued to drive.

Amber stood behind Dean and Sam as they knocked on Hailey's door,

"Dean, I don't think this is a smart idea," Amber fidgeted nervously, hands in her denim jacket.

"shhh," Dean snapped as the front door opened.

"You must be Hailey Collins," Dean looked her up and down, "I'm Dean, this is Sam and Amber," Amber and Sam nodded at Hailey, smiling, "we're rangers from the park service."

"Ranger Wilkinson sent us over," Amber added from her spot behind Dean and Sam.

"We were wondering if we could talk to you about your brother," Dean finished.

Hailey looked at the three of them standing in front of her, hesitating before replying,

"Let me see some ID."

Amber looked wide-eyed at the ID Dean pulled out of his pocket and held in front of the screen. Hailey looked at the ID then up at Dean then back at the ID before finally pushing open the screen door, allowing the three of them to enter.

"Is that your car?" Hailey asked, eyeing the Impala.

Dean nodded,

"Nice car," Hailey walked in front of them, leading them into the kitchen.

They stopped in the kitchen where her younger brother was eating dinner, which Hailey was in the middle of preparing.

"So, how do you know he's missing?" Amber asked, "I mean, he isn't due back until the 24th," she added.

"He has a cell phone, he sends me messages on the phone and laptop everyday, sometimes a few times a day," Hailey sat a bowl onto the wooden table in front of them, her brother hunched over his bowl, silent, "but it's been a few days since he last sent us a message."

"Maybe he isn't getting reception," Sam stated.

Dean looked around the kitchen. A pot was on the stove, steam pouring out of it. It was rather dark and small.

"He has a satellite phone too," Hailey added.

"Did you ever think that maybe they're all having a good time and he just forgot to check in?" Dean continued to eye the room.

"He wouldn't do that!" Hailey's brother spoke up angrily, defending his brother.

"Our parents are gone, it's just my two brothers and me," Hailey said sadly, "We all keep close tabs on one another."

"Could we see the things he sent you?" Sam asked, pointing towards the laptop at the edge of the table.

"Yeah," Hailey said, turning on the computer and pulling over a chair for Sam to sit on.

Sam, Dean and Amber watched the videos Tommy, Hailey's brother, sent them. Tommy had brown hair and was wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt in the video. He looked pretty young. In the video he was telling Hailey and her brother that he was having a good time and that he would check in later. Amber cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out what she just saw. She elbowed Sam lightly. Sam looked up at her, the same bewildered expression on his face. Dean raised an eyebrow at them, noticing their behavior. Sam turned in his seat towards Hailey,

"Could you send these to me?"

"Yeah…sure," Hailey nodded.

"Well, we'll find your brother, we're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing in the morning," Dean spoke up from behind Amber and Sam.

"I'll see you there," Hailey put down another bowl on the table, "Look, I can't sit around here anymore, I hired a guide and he's going to take us through Blackwater Ridge, I need to find my brother," Hailey added.

"Sure," Dean nodded.

"Well, thank you for your time, but we'll leave you alone to have dinner," Amber raised her eyebrows at Dean.

"Yeah, sure," Hailey smiled a little.

Amber was the first to leave the house in her blue jeans, vans, "Rolling Stones" t-shirt and denim jacket. Dean and Sam followed behind, unlocking the impala.

"I can't believe you guys did that!" Amber said from the backseat, running a hand through her hair.

"Did what?" Dean and Sam asked at the same time.

"Lied to her! Used a fake ID…" Amber laughed.

"Relax," Dean laughed, "We do it all the time!" Dean said like it was nothing.

"Oh! That's reassuring!" amber laughed.

"We haven't been caught yet," Dean stated matter-of-factly, winking at Amber and turning on the radio.


	11. Chapter 11: Bar Talk

Chapter 11: Bar Talk

After a long drive from Hailey's home, they stopped at a local bar that amber directed them to. The three of them walked into the moderate size bar disguised as a cabin. As they opened the door, "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas poured out into the parking lot full of muscle cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Amber winced at how loud the music was playing. A group of men stood by one of the two pool tables on the opposite side of the bar, near the tiny window while more men sat and stood at the bar, ordering drinks and having a good laugh with their friends. Booths lined the wall along the entrance of the bar and a few tables sat in the middle of the floor at the far end of the bar.

"There are _a lot_ of people in here tonight," Amber said out loud to no one in particular.

"That's because it's a Saturday," Sam stated, walking towards a table closest to a corner, hands in his pocket.

"It's Saturday," Amber sighed, shaking her head, "…already…I lost track of my days," Amber said, pointing to Sam, "Follow the leader?"

Dean led her over to the table in the corner where Sam sat and had already begun to pull out his laptop. The two of them joined Sam at the table. Before sitting, Amber removed her denim jacket and hung it on the back of the wooden chair, then pulled her chair out to sit. From his seat, Dean raised an eyebrow as she removed her jacket, looking her up and Dean before smirking. As they sat there, a waitress walked over to them,

"Could I start you off with something to drink?" she asked.

The three of them looked around at each other before replying,

"A water for me, please," Amber replied, smiling.

"Nothing for us," Sam replied for both him and Dean.

"Thank you," the waitress smiled before walking off to fetch the water.

Sam flipped open the laptop,

"So, two hikers went missing this past April and were never found," Sam began, "despite there not being much traffic around here."

"Any before that?" Dean leaned in, placing his hands on the table as Sam pulled out a newspaper from his bag.

"Yeah, in 1982," Sam showed Dean the newspaper article, "8 different people went missing in the same year," he stated as Dean and Amber read the title of the article.

"Up to eight hikers vanish in Lost Creek Are. Hikers disappearance baffles authorities?" Amber read allowed, "Wait, I thought they said it was grizzly attacks?" Amber scratched the back of her head, her eyebrows furrowing.

"That's what they thought, but there's something…weird…about these disappearances," Sam said, looking at her, "they all went missing in the same place."

"How do you do it?" Amber asked.

"Do what?" Dean asked, looking over at Amber.

"Figure this stuff out?" she asked.

"We find out something, for instance, someone going missing and we research until we find out the history of the place and if anyone else has gone missing in the same place. It's easier now, but it took us a while. Our dad is a master," Dean grinned.

"Sounds complicated," Amber shook her head, "So, that's where all the…" Amber whispered the last part as the waitress brought over her glass of water, "fake IDs come into play."

The waitress sat the drink in front of Amber and looked at the three of them suspiciously before turning to leave.

"Yeah, but you have to be confident when you flash the badge, any sign of hesitation will cause them to question you and really examine the badge," Dean told her, leaning into the table.

"You've _never_ been caught?" Amber asked, amazed.

"Nope," Dean smirked, then turned to Sam, "So, what else Sammy?"

"There was another attack in 1959 and again before that in 1936," Sam stated, "and it's Sam!"

Sam hit a few buttons on his laptop and a few videos appeared on the screen, all from Tommy to his sister, Hailey.

"Every 23 years, like clockwork. Okay, watch this," Sam told Dean, pressing the play button on his laptop, "I downloaded that guy, Tommy's video to my laptop."

The three of them watched the video and Sam could feel Amber and Dean tense as they saw a shadow move across the outside of the tent.

"Do it again," Dean told Sam.

Sam restarted the video, and then pressed the slow motion button. The shadow moved across the outside of the tent again, but it only took three frames for it to move.

"That's only three frames," Sam said in disbelief.

"That's only a fraction of a second, so whatever the hell that thing is, it can move," Amber shook her head, exhaling.

Dean continued to stare at the screen while hitting Sam in the shoulder with his left hand,

"I _told you_ something strange was going on!" Dean smirked in a cocky manner.

"One more thing," Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's comment, "Only _one_ camper survived the so-called 'grizzly attack'," Sam held up one finger, "and he was just a kid, barely crawled out of the woods alive."

Amber shivered at the thought of being alone in the woods.

"Gotta name?" Dean asked.


	12. Chapter 12: Evil In The Woods

Chapter 12: There's Something Evil in These Woods/"Stay With Me"

The impala pulled up around 9 pm in front of an old cabin that was pretty small. Dean turned the keys, pulling the keys out of the ignition and opening his door at the same time as Sam. Amber sighed shakily, still sitting in the back. Dean leaned over and peered into the back,

"You coming?" he asked.

"Uh…to tell you the truth…I'd rather, uh, stay here and, uh, keep an eye on the car…with the doors closed and locked," Amber laughed nervously.

"Come on," Dean motioned with his head to exit the car.

"Only if you stay near me, I am _not_ walking out there alone!" Amber said seriously, pointing at him.

"Fine, I'll stay with you," Dean said, "now come on."

"You promise?" Amber asked, not moving.

"Yes, yes. I promise," Dean said, shaking his head in an annoyed way.

"Fine," Amber said, climbing over the seatbelt and out of the back of the car.

The entire way over to the front door Amber would not leave Dean's side. They practically looked like they were attached at the hip. They walked up to the front door and knocked on it a few times. Moments later an older man with grey hair answered the door wearing a robe and a lose-fitting white tank under it.

"Mr. Shaw. Hi. I'm Dean, this is Sam and Amber, we work for the park rangers and we wanted to ask you a few questions about the night you were found in the woods," Dean cut to the chase.

"Yes, come in," the man opened the door wider for them, "but I don't know why you would ask me, I was just a kid and it's in public records." He said in a scratchy voice, lighting a cigarette, "We were attacked by a…"

"Grizzly?" Sam cut off the old man.

The man stopped dead in his tracks, pulling the cigarette from his mouth before nodding "yes" a few times.

Amber, deciding to try and prove that she could help, stepped forward between Dean and Sam,

"And the other attacks that year, they were also grizzly attacks?" she put her hands in her denim jacket.

The old man said nothing; only put his lit cigarette back in his mouth while looking at his feet, hands in his dark blue robe.

"And what about the other hikers who went missing _this_ year? Also grizzly attacks?" Dean asked.

The man still said nothing, he looked slightly shaken, but who wouldn't when remembering something as terrible as what happened to him.

"Sir, if we know what we're dealing with, we may be able to stop it," Dean pressed, taking a step towards the man while Sam and Amber looked around the tiny cabin, papers scattered everywhere.

The man took his cigarette out of his mouth, taking a step towards Dean, and said,

"I highly doubt that," he said before sitting down on the old rocket behind him, "besides, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. _Nobody_ ever did."

Amber walked up and stood beside Dean while Sam stepped towards the old man,

"Mr. Shaw…" he began, sitting on the stool beside the chair.

"What was it that you saw?" Amber asked, moving to kneel besides Sam.

The old man hesitated before he spoke,

"Nothing," he shook his head.

Amber furrowed her eyebrows while looking to Sam then up at Dean, he touched her shoulder for a moment.

"It was too fast," the old man said, "it moved so fast no one could see it."

Sam looked up at Dean, who continued to watch the old man,

"I heard it though," the old man stared at the cigarette in his hand, burning down, "heard it roar. It was like nothing I have ever heard before."

Amber began to feel the blood draining from her face and the hair stand up on the back of her neck. Goosebumps covered her muscular arms under her denim jacket. She looked up at Dean, her eyes questioning him. Searching for answers, lips parted ever so slightly. The look on her face caused him to place a hand on her left shoulder, trying to tell her she was fine,

"What did the roar sound like?" Dean asked.

The old man looked up at Dean, fear in his eyes,

"Like no animal or man I have ever heard before," the man took a drag of his cigarette.

"It came out night?" Amber asked.

The man replied only by nodding.

"It got inside your tent?" Dean asked.

The man shook his head,

"Inside our cabin."

Amber's breathing came in short gasps, feeling a little light-headed as she kneeled on the floor.

"I didn't even know it was in the cabin until I woke up to my parents' screaming," the man said sadly.

"It killed them?" Sam asked.

"It dragged them outside and into the woods, but not before leaving me with this," the man shook his head sadly, pulling the top of his blue terry-cloth robe aside, revealing three long and wide scratch marks from the base of his neck, down across his chest.

Sam and Amber glanced at one another, eyes wide.

"Why it left me alive, I'll never know."

Dean stood straighter at the sight of the claw marks.

"There's something evil in these woods, I'll tell you that," The old man covered the claw marks up, "It was some sort of demon."

Sam and Dean nodded at one another, taking in all the information. Sam stood up, helping Amber up off the floor,

"We're sorry to have bothered you, sir, but that you for all your help," Sam told the poor man.

"We _will_ find the thing that killed your parents," Dean told the man.

Just like that they saw their way out of the cabin.

"Jesus, what the Hell is out there?" Amber was terrified by the story.

"We're not completely sure, but maybe a skinwalker or blackdog," Dean said as they walked down the stairs.

As soon as they touched the dirt, Amber quickly wrapped her arms around Dean's arm. They walked over to the car and Dean shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling on his car keys,

"Hurry up, Dean, just let me in the fucking car," Amber said, bouncing up and down impatiently.

Dean laughed, then dropped the keys on the ground,

"Oops, they slipped," Dean said, obviously meaning to drop the keys.

He bent over and picked them up. Amber looked around in the darkness, her eyes playing tricks on her everywhere she looked,

"Dean, I'm not kidding, let me in the _fucking_ car _right now_!" Amber practically shouted even though he was standing right beside her.

"Alright, sorry," Dean held up his hands defensively after he pulled open the door for her.

Amber practically dove into the car.

When they got home, Amber ran from the car to the front steps of her home, opening the door as quickly as possible, turning on all the lights. Dean just laughed, while Sam felt bad for her. Having to find out that she should, in fact, be afraid of the dark. She checked the trash bag covering the screen she had pulled down where she broke the window the previous day.

"What are you guys going to do?" Amber asked, after retrieving her bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"Go to bed," Dean instantly responded.

"Same," Amber stated, "I'm beat."

The three of them walked up the stairs together,

"It can't be a demon or spirit," Dean said to Sam out of the blue, "they wouldn't have to unlock doors."

"So then it's something else," Sam said, trudging up the tall stairway, "something corporeal."

"Corporeal?" Amber laughed.

"Excuse me, professor," Dean mimicked, receiving an elbow from Sam.

"So what do you think?" Sam asked Dean.

"Skinwalker or blackdog," Dean said, "so we're dealing with a creature and it's corporeal," Dean mimicked Sam when he said that last part.

Amber laughed, receiving a sarcastic,

"Hey!" from Sam.

"My bad," Amber laughed, holding up her hands to show she meant no harm, "But seriously, how do we kill it?" she asked.

"Shoot it," Dean responded.

"Oh, that's….simple."

Dean grinned.

Amber stood in front of her mirror brushing her hair, humming to herself. She wore a pair of green, pink and yellow striped shorts (A/N: from the Victoria's Secret Pink collection) and a green spaghetti strap shirt with three buttons in the front, revealing her toned arms and legs and full chest. She did not know Dean was standing in the doorway for a good two minutes, watching her, grinning to himself, before knocking. The knock startled Amber, causing her to scream and jump.

"Holy shit! Fu…" she placed a hand over her chest.

"Sorry," Dean stepped into the room, snickering at her reaction, "couldn't resist."

"No...it's….I….," placed the brush on her nightstand, "very funny!"

"Are you alright, you looked pretty freaked back there," Dean said, walking towards her bed as she climbed in.

"To be completely honest, no." she laughed despite what she said, "I'm a little freaked out, this past week has been full of…confusing and painful events."

"And for that I'm sorry," Dean sat on the edge of her bed.

"There was nothing you could have done," amber said sadly, "…but…" Amber began, but cut herself off.

"But what?" Dean asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Her face was covered in a glowing orange light from the lamp beside her. The light seemed to soften Dean's face, but that did not take away from his good looks. Her hair glowed a soft orange in the light. Amber decided that tonight was not the best night to tell Dean that she had seen her family's death days before it happened.

"Nothing…I'm just a little freaked," Amber sighed, "and tired," she added, pulling the soft lavender sheets up to her chest.

"I'll leave so you can get some rest," Dean said standing and turning, taking a few steps towards the door, running his right hand through his messy hair.

"_Just before our love got lost_

_You said I am as constant as a northern star._

_And I said, "constantly in the darkness."_

"Dean," Amber said suddenly.

Dean turned to face her, seeing the look on her face.

"Stay with me? I don't want to be alone," she said sheepishly, ashamed of being so frightened.

Dean smiled at her. Really smiled. Dean nodded, taking off his leather jacket and laying in on the edge of the bed,

"Alright."

"_Where's that at?  
If you want me I'll be in the bar  
On the back of a cartoon coaster  
In the blue tv screen light  
I drew a map of canada  
Oh canada  
And your face sketched on it twice…"_

He climbed onto the bed after removing his biker boots and laid on his left side, facing Amber, who rolled onto her stomach, placing her head on her arms, facing Dean.

"Thank you," Amber said softly, smiling sleepily up at him.

Dean nodded lightly.

"What's happening, Dean?" Amber asked sadly.

"Honestly, we don't know," Dean said, "this is weird to us too. Everything that happened a few days ago."

"What does it want with me?"

"I don't know, but I swear to God, we'll find out," Dean said, "and I promise, I will protect you."

He told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"_Oh you are in my blood like holy wine  
Oh and you taste so bitter but you taste so sweet  
Oh I could drink a case of you  
I could drink a case of you darling  
And I would still be on my feet  
Oh Id still be on my feet_

Oh I am a lonely painter  
I live in a box of paints  
Im frightened by the devil  
And Im drawn to those ones that aint afraid  
I remember that time that you told me, you said  
Love is touching souls  
Surely you touched mine  
Cause part of you pours out of me  
In these lines from time to time

Oh you are in my blood like holy wine  
And you taste so bitter but you taste so sweet  
Oh I could drink a case of you  
I could drink a case of you darling  
Still Id be on my feet  
And still be on my feet

I met a woman  
She had a mouth like yours  
She knew your life  
She knew your devils and your deeds  
And she said  
Color go to him, stay with him if you can  
Oh but be prepared to bleed  
Oh but you are in my blood youre my holy wine  
Oh and you taste so bitter, bitter and so sweet  
Oh I could drink a case of you darling  
Still Id be on my feet  
Id still be on my feet…."

-------------------------------------

The song I used in this chapter is from the movie "Practical Magic". It's called "A Case of You" by Joni Mitchell.


	13. Chapter 13: An AttackThe Camp

I will be skipping some episodes in this story and I may not make them go in order.

Oh, and I know the song Amber puts on in this chapter in the beginning is "Girl in the War" by Josh Ritter, but I was listening to the song "In The House – In A Heartbeat" from the 28 Days Later soundtrack because the song goes along better with what happens in this chapter.

------------------------------

Chapter 13: An Attack/The Camp

Amber awoke to Dean lying on his back with his left arm wrapped around her back. Her head was lying on his chest, her waist-length hair scattered all over the blankets. Not wanting to wake Dean, she slowly removed his arm from around her back and crawled out of bed. She looked at the clock, which read 6:23 in the morning. Stretching quietly, she walked towards her bedroom door and grasped the baby blue towel from behind her white wooden door with clear crystal-like handle. Amber then tip-toed over to the master bedroom bathroom and quietly closed the door behind her.

Water filled the tub quickly as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. It looked back at her revealing dark circles under her emerald eyes on her Italian olive-toned face. Her hair was a mess, but she was able to brush it out within five minutes. The window beside her glowed in the early morning light passing through the trees beside the window. The bathroom was large, a large old-fashioned ceramic tub sat on golden legs in the corner of the room, a showerhead attached to the sand-colored tiles on the wall. Beneath the tub sat a drain on the sand-colored tiles, swallowing excess water. The sink sat up against the tiles to the left of the large window. Hand soap sat beside the faucet along with a bottle of lotion.

Amber walked over to the tub, after stripping herself of her green pajamas and gently pressing play on the yellow CD player on the back of the toilet. She sat on the edge of the tub, watching the water as it poured into the tub like a tiny waterfall, water splashing onto the floor of the bathroom. "Girl in the War" by Josh Ritter quietly filled the room as Amber stepped into the hot water. She slowly sat in the tub, allowing the water to swallow her body. Holding her breath, she slid down in the tub, allowing the water to envelope her entire body, soaking her hair. She came back up, closing her eyes and resting her head on the back of the tub.

As she lay there, the music the CD player started emitting static and the in the bathroom began to flicker, sometimes shutting off for a few seconds then turning back on.

"What the…?" Amber sat up in the tub, grasping the edges, heart pounding.

Amber climbed out of the tub and grabbed the baby blue towel that was neatly folded on the toilet seat, wrapping it tightly around her body. She began walking towards the door, but before she got to the door, she heard laughter. An evil laughter that seemed to come from all corners of the room. It sent chills up her spine. She then heard footsteps coming from behind her. Slowly she turned, afraid to face what was behind her. At first there was nothing behind her, but when the lights flickered off then back on, she was able to see the outline of a person in a black trench coat. Her face drained completely as the figure approached her with glowing golden eyes.

"Oh God!" she cried, turning to reach for the door.

Before she could even grasp the cool door handle in her right hand, she was grabbed from behind, her scream muffled by a hand covering her full, pink lips. The man's other hand wrapped itself around her waist. Amber clawed at his hands, but ended up having to bit his hand.

"Tsk Tsk Tsk," it scoffed just before she bit his hand.

The man cried out and shoved her hard, sending her sailing across the room, smashing into the tile wall. She landed in a heap on the slippery tile floor, cutting up her left knee and left side of her forehead. She quickly pushed herself up and sat on her butt as the man approached her quickly.

Amber crawled backwards on the damp floor,

"Dean!" she screamed as she hit the wall behind her.

Not even a second later, Dean kicked the door open,

"Get down!" he yelled, firing the gun he held in both hands.

The demon turned and burst into a black cloud, disappearing into the floor. Amber lifted her head in time to see it disappearing into the floor and Dean running, or more like sliding, over to her. He dropped down onto his bare knees in front of her and grasped her face in his hands. As soon as he touched her, tears streamed down her cheeks. He gently turned her face from side to side to check for more cuts. Her forehead and knee were dripping blood, staining the baby blue blanket,

"Shit!" he exclaimed once seeing her wounds.

He looked around the room until he found what he was looking for. Standing up, he rushed over to the towel rack and grabbed a white towel then kneeled in front of her again, touching the towel to her forehead. From behind them, they heard someone, that someone being Sam, stumbling up the stairs to her room. Within moments of reaching the top of the stairs, Sam was in the bathroom in a pair of boxers and a grey t-shirt, his strong arms exposed.

"What the Hell happened?" Sam asked upon seeing Dean dabbing Amber's bleeding forehead with the now pink towel, "I heard a gunshot!"

"Get dressed!" Dean turned facing his brother, "We're leaving, NOW!"

"Now?" Sam asked, completely unaware of what had just happened.

"I said, NOW, Sammy!" Dean practically shouted.

Sam turned and headed back down the stairs, skipping two or three stairs at a time, and got dressed while Dean helped Amber stand up.

"Come on, you're okay," he repeated a few times as he helped a shaking Amber stand up, "I think you may need stitches," Dean added, looking at the gash on her forehead again.

"I don't think so," Amber replied as he led her towards the bathroom door.

He led her quickly out of the bathroom, grabbing his 45 as he left. He glanced behind him once before helping her over to the bed and helping her dress. She threw on a pair of jeans, hissing as she pulled them over her cut up knee, and a green t-shirt with writing across the chest that read,

"Yo, rock, ya gonna eat thunder and crap lightning."

Dean laughed for a moment at her shirt, but then proceeded to grab things from her drawers and toss them into a green messenger bag she had pulled out for him. Dean would not allow her to pack her stuff. A photograph of her father, stepfather, mother and sister were packed into the top of the bag along with a few t-shirts and a pair of jeans and shorts and her sketchpad.

"Dean, why me?" Amber asked, holding the pink towel to her forehead, "Why is it after me?"

Dean looked up from shoving a pair of jeans into the army green messenger bag. She looked like she was on the verge of crying once again. He walked over to her and sat beside her on the bed,

"We will find out why," Dean told her, "but right now we need to focus on getting you away from here, okay?"

Amber nodded gently, a smile creeping onto her delicate features as Dean wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

Within moments they were heading down the stairs towards the living room. Sam stood gripping the railing, looking up the stairs waiting for Dean and Amber. By the time Dean had finished packing her stuff and his, the bleeding on her knee and forehead had slowed, but she still held the towel to her forehead. Dean opened the front door instantly, Amber following behind Dean and Sam following behind Amber. Just as she was about to close the front door, she flung it back open,

"Shit!" she exclaimed, "my camera!"

"What?" Dean asked, only hearing the "shit".

"I left my camera inside," she ran back into the living room and grabbed it off the living room table then went back outside, slamming the door behind her, "got it!" she exclaimed, holding up a black Kodak.

Not once did Amber look back as the Impala peeled out of the driveway. She knew if she looked back, she would not be able to leave, despite the attack in her bathroom. It was her home. Her family's' home. None of them spoke until about they were about five minutes from where Hailey and her brother, Ben, would be hiking out with a tour guide to find their brother. Sam finally spoke up after what seemed like forever, still staring out the window watching the trees that passed by,

"So, are you ever going to tell me what the Hell happened back there?" he asked, glancing at Dean once before turning and peering back out the window.

In the back seat Amber traced dirt mark on the outside of the back window with her right index finger. Not looking away from the spot she answered Sam's question,

"The thing that killed my parents came back for me," she said, "I was taking a bath when the lights started flickering and the radio was all static. I was about to leave the bathroom, but this…. guy…..appeared behind me dressed in a black trench coat," she sighed heavily, "luckily Dean was there with the gun."

"Dean, the gun is no going to kill it," Sam said, looking over at Dean again.

"Dude, I know," Dean grumbled, "but I had to do something to make it leave her alone," he said, glancing in the rearview mirror once to check on Amber before looking back at the road.

Hailey, Ben and the tour guide stood at the beginning of the path as the Impala parked. Out stepped Dean, Sam and Amber. Hailey and the tour guide were chatting as they stepped out of the car.

"You're rangers?" the man wearing hiking boots and pants asked, adjusting his pack on his shoulders.

"Yes, sir," Sam responded, walking up to the others.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Hailey asked, looking Dean up and down.

"Sweetheart, I don't do short," was Dean's response, walking ahead of them, Amber and Sam following behind.

They hiked for what seemed like hours, but they still were not at the campsite. None of them spoke to one another; they just focused on making it up and down the sides of the mountains.

"So the three of you are rangers?" the man asked.

"Yep," Dean replied, aggravated by the man.

Dean was about to step forward, but was grabbed roughly by the collar of his jacket. Sam stepped forward,

"What are ya doin' Roy?" Dean asked as he was pulled back.

Roy placed a tree branch on the ground in front of him. Amber and Hailey jumped at the sound of the branch being snapped in half.

"A bear trap?" Dean asked, "unbelievable."

"Watch your step….ranger," Roy said, emphasizing the last part.

Dean pulled roughly out of his grasp before shooting him an angry look. Amber walked up beside Dean and Sam, their hands almost touching. Amber glanced back periodically to catch Roy sneering at her. When Roy finally walked ahead of the group, Hailey roughly grabbed Dean's left upper arm,

"You didn't pack any provisions, you are hiking out in biker boots and jeans, you're not rangers!" she said angrily, "So who the Hell are you?" she demanded.

Dean looked up at Sam and nodded for him to go ahead. Amber was not going to leave, but Sam grabbed her wrist and led her away from the two. They were walking towards a thick patch of trees when Sam asked,

"So, are you alright?"

"What?" she asked, looking up at him, pulling her hair back in a ponytail.

"From earlier?" he asked, biting his lip.

"Shaken," she answered honestly, then adding a little humor, she said, "but not stirred."

Sam cocked his head to the side for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows, then he laughed when he caught what she had just said.

"Took you long enough!" she laughed.

Sam walked ahead of her along the path. The minute Amber looked back to see where Dean and Sam was, she ran into something hard. The something hard was Sam, who had stopped just ahead of the trees,

"What?" she asked before stepping up beside him, "Oh my God!"

"Dean!" Sam called, not looking back, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene in front of them.


	14. Chapter 14: Quarells And Wendigos

Chapter 14: Quarrels and Wendigos

The scene in front of them was unreal. It looked like a massacre. Two tents were destroyed, one partially in a tree and the other was ripped to shreds. Logs were thrown about and bags were turned upside down then inside out.

"Jesus," Dean murmured, stepping up beside them.

Amber looked over at Dean, her emerald eyes wide, as he took a few steps forward into the campsite. From behind her, Amber heard Amber,

"Oh my God!" se exclaimed, running into the center of the campsite.

Amber looked around for Dean and found him kneeling near the edge of the campsite. Amber jogged over to him and put her hand on his shoulder,

"What is it?" she asked, crouching beside him.

He touched the path in front of him,

"They were dragged," he stated as Sam came up behind them.

"The question is, by what?" Sam asked.

"Skinwalker, maybe," Dean stood up, dusting his hand of.

"Skinwalker?" Amber asked, not familiar with the word.

"It's someone who can take the form of another," Sam answered for Dean.

"Makes sense," Amber replied, looking around the woods, "We'll be back to the car before sunset, right?" she asked Dean, putting her hands in her jacket.

"Only if we find her brother before sunset," Dean answered.

"Dean, you know I don't like it in the woods at night," Amber bit her lip, looking around her.

"Don't worry, I'm here," Dean smirked, turning to walk towards Hailey who held something in her hands, tears in her eyes.

"Very funny!" Amber called, walking over to Sam who stood at the edge of the camp, looking around the woods, as if he was listening for something.

"What's wrong?" Amber asked.

"Do you hear that?" Sam asked, looking around.

Amber listened, but heard nothing.

"I don't hear anything," Amber answered a few moments later, looking up at Sam, feeling slightly confused.

"Exactly," Sam replied, "no birds, no crickets…nothing."

Amber looked around,

"That's not good," she whispered.

Sam turned in the soft soil, leaving his boot imprint in the soil, and began walking towards Dean, Amber beside him. Just as Sam opened his mouth to say something, they heard shouting,

"Help! Help me please!" a male called, voice hoarse.

All six of them turned towards the direction of the voice. Instantly Dean pulled out his gun, Sam as well, and ran towards the sound, Hailey and Amber not far behind them. The soil kicked up behind them as they pounded it. Trees flew past them as they ran. Once they were a good distance from the campsite, the yelling had completely stopped, along with Sam and Dean. Dean stopped Amber by holding out his arms across her abdomen. Amber saw Sam backing up in her peripheral.

"Everybody back to camp," Sam said, before turning completely and walking towards camp.

"That didn't sound like a grizzly," Hailey stated, looking back every few moments.

"That's because it wasn't," Dean stated, trudging back towards the campsite.

When they returned to the campsite, their packs were gone.

"Where are our packs!" Hailey exclaimed, looking around the campsite.

"It led us out of the camp site so it could take our packs," Sam huffed.

"What? The grizzly?" Roy sneered, "it couldn't have been a grizzly, somebody's playing with us," he said, cocking his shotgun.

Amber walked past him to stand with Dean. Roy gave her the same look he did before, but this time Amber had had enough. She grabbed him roughly by the jacket and shoved him, hard, into a tree,

"I've had enough of you looking at me like that!" she yelled, causing Dean and Sam to turn around.

Dean's eye widened as he saw her shove him into the tree.

"If you look at me like that again, I swear to God, I will knock that look right off your face!" she pointed at him, her index finger coming within an inch of his face.

Roy pushed her roughly backwards, but she shoved him roughly backwards in return, into the tree.

"Hey!" Dean shouted, stepping between them.

Amber huffed and pushed past Dean angrily,

"That's right, walk away," Roy taunted.

Amber instantly turned at his comment and, despite Dean's efforts to stop her, launched herself at Roy, tackling him. They landed with a thud in the dark soil. Amber was able to punch Roy in the face once before Dean grabbed her,

"HEY!" he shouted, grabbing her fist and yanking her off the ground by her right arm, "hey! Stop! Enough!" he shouted angrily.

Amber stepped backwards a few steps, a few feet away from Dean,

"Stop!" he pointed at Amber, then he pointed at Roy, "And you!" he took a step towards Roy, grabbing both sides of his jacket and pulling him so their faces were a mere five inches from one another, "don't you touch her again," he said angrily, shoving him backwards.

Roy wasn't finished yet, he took a step towards them again,

"As long as you keep that bitch on a leash," he smiled evilly.

Now it was Dean's turn. He turned and threw a punch at Roy, catching him in the chin, causing him to fall onto his ball in the soil.

Sam came between Dean and Roy before Dean or Roy could do anymore damage,

"Stop!" Sam held out his arms between the two as Roy stood up.

"Guys, stop it!" Hailey shouted.

Dean shook his right hand a few times after rubbing his knuckles, which had already begun to turn purple.

"Set up camp," Dean said, staring angrily back at Roy.

Despite Amber's terrifying fear of the woods at night, they set up camp. Roy did not look at Amber once the rest of the evening, nor did he look or speak to Dean. There was one fire going, Hailey, Ben, Roy and Amber sat at it, just staring blankly into it. Amber looked up at the sound of Dean's footsteps approaching them. He walked past the small group with Sam, holding a leather bound journal in his hand.

"What are you doing?" Amber asked, standing and walking over to Dean and Sam.

"These will protect us," Sam said as Dean drew symbols in the dirt.

"From what?" Hailey asked.

"The wendigo," Dean responded, not looking up.

"Wendigo?" Amber asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, a creature that…"Sam began.

"I know what it is," Amber stated, looking around her.

"You know what it is?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I just don't believe in it…I have to see it to believe it," she stated, "Though I don't really _want_ to see it, especially right now."

"Well, sweetheart, I don't think you have a choice in the matter," Dean stated, finishing the symbol and standing.

Amber looked at the ground, covering her mouth with her right hand and muttering,

"Fuck!"


	15. Chapter 15: A Kiss

The song in this chapter is "Precious" by Depeche Mode. I thought it fit.

------------------------------

Chapter 15: A Kiss?

_Precious and fragile things_

_Need special handling_

_My God what have we done to you?_

_We always tried to share_

_The tenderest of care_

_Now look what we have put you through_

Amber sat away from the fire, near Dean and Sam, staring down at her bruised knuckles. She gently touched them, wishing she had ice to put on them. She only saw Sam's legs and dirty boots as he got up and walked past them, leaving her alone with Dean. At first she felt a little awkward, sitting alone with Dean, but then she finally spoke up,

"How's your hand?" was the best thing she could think of to ask.

"I'll survive," Dean replied, watching her play with her hand, "how's yours?" he asked, gently grasping her bruised right hand in his.

She winced slightly as he grasped it,

"I'll survive," she smiled teasingly.

_Things get damaged_

_Things get broken_

_I thought we'd manage_

_But words left unspoken left us so brittle_

_There was so little left to give_

The only sound around them was the sound of the fire roaring a good ten feet away from them. Suddenly Dean took the initiative and leaned towards her. Amber closed her eyes, feeling his warm breath on her face. She knew what he was attempting to do.

"Dean," she whispered gently, "I can't," she stated, causing him to sigh and lean back.

"Why? Why not?" he asked.

I want to, I really do, but I can't…" she stated, looking down at the ground, leaves surrounding her sneakers.

"Give me a reason why," Dean said, feeling frustrated, "even in Florida you didn't want to, at the time I understood because we only knew each other a few days, but now…" she threw his hands up in an "I give up" manner.

She sighed, looking up at him once before looking back down at the soil,

"I…it's just…I don't trust guys when it comes to anything more than friendship," she began, "my last boyfriend…he beat me, cheated on me, but threatened that if I ever left him, he would kill me…if I ever called the cops, he would kill me." Once, when he was beating me, I had my cell phone in my pocket and dialed 911 when he came in from work once, swinging at me. He didn't know I had dialed them, but he got a big surprise when the police arrived at the house," she spilled.

_Angels with silver wings_

_Shouldn't know suffering_

_I wish I could take the pain for you_

_If God has a master plan_

_That only he understands_

_I hope it's your eyes he's seeing through_

_Things get damaged_

_Things get broken_

_I thought we'd manage_

_But words left unspoken_

_Left us so brittle_

_There was so little left to give_

Dean felt as though someone had stabbed him in his heart and twisted the blade. He leaned forward, whispering,

"I understand now why you feel the way you do, but you cannot punish another guy for you ex-boyfriend's stupidity," his face was once again inches from hers.

She did not respond, only looked down at the ground. Dean huffed and stood up to walk away, still frustrated.

Amber quickly stood, deciding to take a chance,

"Dean!" she quickly called, grabbing his hand before he could take another step, and pulled him towards her.

_I pray you learn to trust_

_Have faith in both of us_

_And keep room in your hearts for two_

Their lips collided. They kissed right there, in front of Hailey, Ben, Sam and Roy. Sam smirked as Dean wrapped a strong arm around Amber's curvy hips and Amber wrapped her arms around Dean's neck. Their kiss was one of hunger, for they have both wanted to since Key West, but she would not allow him to nor would she allow herself to. In the few short moments they kissed, Amber saw flashes in her head, like a vision, only there was no pain involved. She saw herself in a white dress, flowers in hand, smiling, she saw a little girl with red hair and hazel eyes sitting on Dean's shoulders, she saw Sam sitting at a large table with them, holding hands with a dark-haired women after a large dinner. When the vision ended, Amber pulled away for a moment to look Dean in the eyes, he smirked down at her and kissed her again, but only a quick peck on the lips.

_Things get damaged_

_Things get broken_

_I thought we'd manage_

_But words left unspoken left us so brittle_

_There was so little left to give._

**Sorry it's taking so long for me to update each chapter, I have very little free time as of now. I am hoping to finish half of this story before the second season starts. I will write a second story, and that one will begin at the beginning of the second season.**


	16. Chapter 16: On The Run

I think "Simon Says" by Pharoahe Munch goes along pretty well with this chapter considering that is what I was listening to when I wrote it. Just a reminder, I don't own Dean, Sam, Roy, Hailey or her brother or any other familiar character from "Supernatural", I do, however, own amber. For those of you who have not read the beginning chapters, I picture Amber looking like the woman on the front cover of the book "A Great and Terrible Beauty" by Libba Bray.

Sorry my chapters vary in length. I try to make them as long as I possibly can, but I do like the cliffhanger endings.

----------------------------------

Chapter 16: On the Run

When they pulled apart the second time, Dean smirked down at her,

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Dean asked, "Wait, don't answer that!"

Amber laughed.

"Just give me some time," she said.

"Would you be…" Dean began, but was cut off by yelling in the darkness.

All six of them turned towards the direction of the yelling. It came from behind them, down the hill. Dean and Sam both pulled out their guns, cocking them.

"Stay here!" Dean ordered.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy asked sarcastically.

"Yeah," Dean said, running out into the darkness with his brother Sam.

"I don't think so," Roy stated, cocking his gun, chasing after them.

"Wait!" Amber yelled, running towards the edge of the circle and stopping, "Don't!" she called again, but the three of them were gone, leaving her alone with Hailey and Ben, "Shit!" she threw her hands up in the air.

"What do we do now?" Hailey panicked.

"Stay here," Amber replied, "Wait for them."

Hailey, Ben and Amber sat around the fire, huddled close to one another, terribly frightened. They sat there, listening for any sort of sound, but heard nothing until about five minutes later. A gunshot echoed through the woods followed by incoherent shouts. The three of them instantly stood up and listened, hearing footsteps quickly approaching them. As the footsteps got louder, they huddled closer together. The three of them sighed as they saw Sam and Dean emerge from behind a tree,

"Oh thank God," Amber placed a hand over her heart

"Where's Roy?" Hailey eyed the gun in Dean's hand.

"I didn't shoot him, if that's what your thinking," Dean told her, putting the gun away, "We're leaving!"

"Leaving, what about Tommy?" Hailey took a few steps towards Dean.

"We have to move away from here," Dean said.

"How do we know it's not going to follow us?" amber asked from her spot beside Hailey.

"We don't, now let's go," Dean replied, taking Amber's hand and pulling her towards him, leading her into the woods, Sam, Hailey and Ben following behind them, tree branches crunching beneath their feet.

It was morning by time they were close to their destination. They walked through the woods, but Sam stopped them in the middle of a clearing.

"Wait, look," he pointed to claw marks on all the surrounding trees, red and angry.

They all stopped and looked around them. They all turned in time to see Hailey land on her butt after a high-pitched scream and see a dead Roy land beside her.

"Oh my God," Amber turned away from the scene as Sam ran over to Hailey,

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, helping Hailey up off the ground.

"His neck's broken," Dean stated after touching Roy's neck.

They all turned and looked towards the direction they had just come when they heard a twig snapping and saw something run across the path.

"Let's go!" Dean yelled to them, running off towards the right, grabbing amber's hand and dragging her along with him. They all ran as fast as their legs could carry them, which was pretty fast considering their current situation. None of them looked back, except Sam, who stopped to help Ben who had tripped. Hailey, Dean and amber continued running until something large stepped in front of them. Amber felt the blood drain from her face as the large creature, half man, half…something else, roared at them. Dean took three steps back, holding his arm out in front of amber, trying to protect her somewhat. The only thing Amber remembered before everything went black was them turning to run, but not even being able to take one step before something hit them over the head, knocking them out. The only thing Sam heard was Hailey and Amber's screams then silence.


	17. Chapter 17: Escape?

Chapter 17: Escape?

Amber awoke to someone gently tapping her cheek. At first she could not see anything and she thought perhaps she was wearing a blindfold, but then she realized she was in some sort of a cave or mine. At first she did not realize who had woken her up from her sleep, so she was about to scream when someone placed his or her hand over her mouth, muffling her scream.

"It's ok, you're okay! It's just me," Sam whispered, helping her down from where she was hanging.

Once she was down, he walked her over to where Hailey and Dean sat, sitting her down between Dean and Hailey. Dean gently placed a hand on her cheek, turning her face so she was looking at him,

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded,

"As okay as I can be in a situation like this," she replied, trying to be funny.

Dean smiled, pushing himself up off the ground after they had cut down Hailey and Ben's brother, Tommy, who happened to be alive. Dean dug in a bag, finding flare guns.

"Hey," Dean called to Sam, causing him to turn and face Dean, "these will work," he smirked, twirling the two guns on his fingers.

Sam smirked.

"Let's go," Dean put one gun in his belt and helped Amber up off the ground.

They climbed back up through the whole in which Sam and Ben had fallen. Standing up, they began their trek back to the entrance in the dark. Dean stopped Sam and faced the small group,

"Okay, you guys follow Sammy out of here," Dean said, pulling the second gun out of his pocket.

"What are you doing to do?" Hailey asked, eyeing the guns.

Dean responded by winking at her.

"Be careful," Amber said, causing him to smirk at her.

I'm always careful," Dean said before running off into of the tunnels.

"Hey, you guys hungry?" he shouted, holding the guns up, looking back at the group once, nodding for them to move, before shouting again, disappearing into the darkness, "You want suma-this! I taste good!" they could hear him shouting in the distance.

Sam, Amber, Hailey, Tommy, and Ben surreptitiously headed towards the entrance, but once they caught sight of the entrance, they booked it.

"Keep going!" Sam urged them on, pulling out a flare gun of his on and stopping beside a jagged wall, keeping a lookout for the wendigo.

Amber helped Hailey and Ben carry their brother, Tommy, towards the entrance. He was half conscious, half unconscious and in pain. After a few moments, they stopped and turned back towards where Sam had stopped,

"Sam?" Amber called out.

They saw the flare gun go off in the distance then heard footsteps running towards then.

"Go, go, go!" Sam shouted, pressing them on.

They ran, but came to a dead end. Amber screamed as something grabbed her from behind, tossing her backwards (A/N: The wendigo _is_ supposed to be fast!). She hit the stone hard, but instantly sat up and crawled backwards, screaming as the wendigo slowly approached her, foot long claws ready to slice. It's blue skin seemed black in the cavern and its eyes glowed black. Fangs stuck out of the mouth. As it lifted its claws to strike, Sam yelled,

"Hey!" charging from behind.

Amber backed up until she hit something solid, screaming as she was grabbed and lifted by Dean,

"Over here!" he shouted.

The monster turned, roaring as Dean fired the flare gun, hitting it in the stomach. Dean wrapped his arms around her, shielding her as the monster was engulfed by flame, somewhat exploding into a puff of smoke. When the monster was gone, Dean pulled away from Amber slightly, looking her up and Dean,

"Are you okay?"

"That thing was real," she said, still staring where the creature once stood.

He nodded in response,

"Well, at least now you know Sam and I aren't crazy."

"How are you guys?" Dean asked, tearing his eyes away from Amber for a moment.

"Just get us the Hell outta here," Hailey responded for all of them.

It took them a few hours to get back to the ranger center. Hailey had called 911 to the ranger station ten minutes prior to arriving. They walked out of the woods, cut up and helping Hailey and Ben with Tommy. They were all very tired. No sooner they stepped out of the woods, paramedics rushed over to Hailey and Ben to take Tommy, laying him on a bed and lifting it into the ambulance. They then led Amber, Dean and Sam over to the ambulance to patch them up as well. Amber sat to the left of Dean while Sam sat to the right of him, on the edge of the ambulance.

"Where did this come from?" the paramedic asked Amber, turning her head slightly to view the gash on the left side of her forehead.

"I slipped on my bathroom floor, hit it on a tile," she said honestly, leaving the part out about the attack.

"That's going to need some stitches to help it heal," the paramedic said, reaching into the back of the ambulance and pulling out a kit.

Amber stiffened at the paramedic's words, backing up a little,

"I really don't think they're necessary," Amber laughed nervously.

"Have you ever had stitches?" Dean asked her.

Amber shook her head "no".

"They're not that bad," Dean told her, touching her hand gently.

She groaned as the paramedic approached her with the needle.

The procedure took about twenty minutes.


	18. Chapter 18: A New Job

I just wanted to say "Thank You" to all my readers and reviewers…so, Thank You. I'm trying to update as much as possible and with the premiere of season 2 approaching quickly, I'm really pushing myself to get a lot of this story done.

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Chapter 18: A New Job

The three of them sat in a hotel diner at the Cynnwood Inn. It had been a week since the wendigo was destroyed. Dean sat to the right of his brother with a newspaper sprawled out in front of him, hair messy. He wore his black leather jacket, black t-shirt, and jeans. Sam sat, arms crossed on the table wearing a blue jacket and a pair of jeans. The pair of them sat waiting for Amber to come out of the bathroom. The stitches were taken out earlier that afternoon. Every chance she had, she went to the bathroom to check and see how it looked because she "didn't want people staring at the scar."

Dean sat, reading the obituary, trying to find any unnatural deaths or weird occurrences mentioned in the tiny paragraphs under the photographs of the deceased. He repeatedly circled the same article with a blue pen while others were crossed out with black ink. A big breasted blonde wearing a pink spaghetti strap with what looked like cherry designs waltzed up to Dean from behind the counter, leaning forward and placing her hands flat on the table, squeezing her breasts together to get Dean's attention. A key charm hung around her neck and her dirty blonde hair hung over her shoulders, framing her girlish face.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked, flashing Dean a smile.

Dean raised an eyebrow after looking her up and down,

"No," he replied.

"The check," Sam smiled politely at the woman who muttered something under her breath and walked away.

"Sam, we are allowed to have fun," Dean said, turning completely in his chair.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother,

"Get her number," Dean urged his brother.

"Dean," Sam huffed, shaking his head.

"Slip her yours on a napkin," Dean tried again.

"Dean."

Amber came walking up behind them dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a pink halter-top under an olive green army jacket that belonged to her grandfather. Her hair was in a messy bun, some stray strands stuck out of the bun and hung around her face. Dean pushed the newspaper over to Sam,

"Check this out, I think I got this one," Dean said as Sam looked over the article.

"Got one what?" Amber asked coming up behind Dean and wrapping her arms gently around his neck, resting her head on his left shoulder after gently kissing his cheek.

"Another job," Dean told her, grasping her wrist gently and kissing her gently on the lips.

"How do you know?" she asked, unwrapping her arms and pulling a chair up between the two.

"Lake Manitock, Wisconsin, last week Sophie Carlton, 18, walks into the lake, but doesn't walk out," Dean smirks.

Sam read allowed some key points in the article,

"Authorities dragged the water and found nothing. Third drowning this year and none of the other bodies were found?" Sam stated.

"And none of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago."

"A funeral?" Sam asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah, for…"Dean thought for a moment, "closure," he finished.

"Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear Dean, other people just stop looking for them," Sam's mood seemed to change.

"Is there something you want to say to me?" Dean put his pen down and turned to face Sam again.

"The trail for dad is getting colder and colder everyday."

Amber leaned back in the chair, rubbing her forehead as the brothers argued for the third time that week.

"Exactly, so what are we supposed to do?" Dean seemed to add fuel to the fire.

"Something…anything!"

"You know what, I'm sick of this attitude," Dean kept his voice low as he argued, "You don't think I want to find dad as much as you do?"

"Yeah, I know you do. I just…" Sam began, but Dean cut him off.

"I'm the one who was with him everyday for the past two years while you went off to college and pep rallies. We will find dad, but until then we will kill everything bad between here and there!" Dean said angrily, "Okay?"

"Yeah," Sam cooled.

"So, this Lake Manitock," Amber leaned forward again, cutting in before they had a chance to argue some more, "How far?"

"I haven't exactly looked at the map, but it shouldn't be too far," Dean said, standing up, Amber and Sam following suit.

They exited the diner and climbed into the car. Amber was starting to adjust, slowly, to their travels. They had been together for about a week and a half. Soon they were on the road.

They pulled up to a brown log cabin with green shutters resting comfortably between groups of trees. The stairs to the porch sat on the left of the porch while the door was located at the end of the right side of the porch. Dean turned in his seat, handing Amber a wallet,

"Before I forget, this is yours," he said as she took it from him.

"What's this?" she, flipping it open and seeing an ID card.

She laughed and looked up at Dean,

"So my name is A…" she looked back down to read the name beside the photograph of her, "Anita Fisher? Where did you get this?" she laughed.

"I have connections," he smirked, pushing open the car door and climbing out, "just follow me," Dean said, allowing Amber to climb out before closing the door behind her.

The group of three walked over to the stairs, walking up to the front door. Dean knocked twice on the green wooden door before it opened, revealing a young man, about the age of twenty in a light t-shirt, short hair.

"Will Carlton?" Dean asked, pulling out his wallet, flashing an ID card,

"I'm Agent Ford, this is Agent Ham ill and Agent Fisher (A/N:I thought I would just add that right in there)," Dean said, closing the wallet and shoving it into his jeans, "we work for the U.S. Wildlife Service, we would like to have a word with you."

The young man named Will nodded, stepping out onto the porch and led them to the back of the house where a beautiful lake sat with a dock. It was beautiful, but something lived there, something that needed to be destroyed.

"She was about 100 yards out," Will pointed straight ahead of him, "that's where she got dragged out."

"Are you sure she didn't just drown?" Amber spoke up from between Dean and Sam.

"I'm sure," Will answered, looking at her then back at Dean and Sam, "she was a varsity swimmer, she practically grew up in that lake," he finished.

Amber looked at the lake, looking for anything suspicious.

"She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub," Will added, smiling sadly at the memory of his now deceased sister.

"You said she was dragged out there," Amber began, "there was no splashing, no signs of foul play or distress?" she asked.

" No, that's what I'm telling you!" Will got frustrated.

"Did you see any shadows, maybe some dark shape?" Sam asked, looking out at the lake.

"No," he answered, " again she was really far out."

"Any strange tracks by the shore?" Dean drilled Will for some answers.

"No, why? What do you think is out there?" Will asked, looking around the shore.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do," Dean stated, turning and walking towards his car.

Amber walked over to him and faced him,

"Do you know what's out there?" Amber asked, touching his shoulder gently.

Dean shook his head and responded,

"No," running his hands through his hair.

"What about your father?" they heard Sam ask Will.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Dean mentally slapped himself, turning around.

Will's father sat on a bench at the end of the dock, looking out at the water. She felt terrible for what he had been put through, especially after what had happened to her. Amber could only image how he felt.

Will hesitated,

"Look, if you three don't mind, he didn't see anything.." Will crossed his arms, looking back at his dad once more.

"No, not at all," Sam replied, "Thank you for your time," Sam nodded at the young man before turning and walking across the sand-like soil to the Impala.

The three of the them climbed into the car, Amber taking her usual position in the back seat of the Impala. As they drove off, dirt kicking up behind them, Amber asked,

"_Do you_ think his dad saw anything?"

Dean ran a hand through his head again, thinking before he responded,

"To be honest, no, I don't."

"So, where is Harrison taking us now?" she asked, smirking in the backseat of the car.

Dean looked in the rearview mirror, giving her a questioning look,

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were Agent Harrison Ford for a moment, I guess I was wrong," she smiled.

"Oh," he, he caught on, laughing, "Well, I guess it's a good thing I called you Agent Fisher because doesn't that Han Solo fella get with Lea or whatever her name was in Star Wars?" he smirked, looking back at her winking.

"Oh, I should have known," she smiled, rolling her eyes, turning to look back out the window.

"So where are we going now?"

"To the police station," Sam and Dean said in unison.


	19. Chapter 19: Lake Monster

Chapter 19: Lake Monster?

The door to the hotel room burst open,

"Yeah, way to almost blow our cover!" Amber said, "Of course…the dam…that's part of the lake," Amber mimicked Dean.

"And you think you could have done better?" Dean laughed.

"Yes, I do!" Amber stated, crossing her arms and standing tall and straight.

Sam sat his stuff down on the small table in front of the pink and white wallpaper, which resembled shells. The room was rather tiny and dark, containing two small twin sized beds pushed up against the wall opposite the door. A drawing hung on the wall along the door and a mirror. He rolled his eyes.

"Now you know how I feel," Sam laughed at their argument.

"You tell her.." Dean started, "Wait, are you taking sides with her?"

Sam smirked and stepped up beside Amber, putting his arm around her shoulder,

"Yes, Yes I am," Sam looked down at Amber who looked up at him, smiling.

"Thank you, Sam," Amber smiled cheekily at Dean.

"_That_..." Dean said, pointing at the two of them "is _not_ fair. Sammy, you're supposed to take _my_ side!"

"Not this time," Sam said, walking over to the bed and pulling out his laptop.

"Sam's smart, remember?" Amber smirked, grabbing a different shirt out of her bag and walking towards the bathroom.

Dean smirked and ran over to her, picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder, carrying her towards the bed.

"Dean!" she shrieked, pounding gently on his back and laughing, "Put me down!" she told him between laughter, her hair completely falling out of its bun and almost touching the floor.

"Put you down?"

"Yes!" she shrieked, grasping her hair so it was not flying in every direction.

"Okay," she felt Dean shrug his strong shoulders beneath her pink halter top.

He gently tossed her over his shoulder and she landed on her back on the bed. Amber rolled onto her back to sit up when Dean climbed on top of the bed, causing Sam to groan in disgust from across the room at the table in the corner. Amber allowed him to climb on top of her, his hands on either side of her. He crawled on top of her, stopping when his face was a mere two inches from hers. She looked into his eyes, down at his pink lips then back up into his eyes, grinning slightly. He leaned in and kissed her. Amber leaned back, placing a hand on the bed to keep her from falling over,

"Could you guys seriously _not_ do that in front of me!" Sam groaned again, typing something on his laptop, "I found something," Sam stated seriously, the typing stopping.

"Always has to ruin the fun," Amber muttered sarcastically.

Dean climbed off of her, grasping her hand and pulling her onto her feet. They both walked over to where Sam sat,

"So there are the three drowning victims this year…" Sam said, staring at the bright screen in front of him with scans of a newspaper.

"And before that?" Dean asked.

"Before that? Six more," Sam stated, looking back and up at his brother, "spread out over the past 35 years."

"If there is something out there, it's been picking up it's pace," Amber scanned the newspaper article on the screen before her, her face glowing from the screen.

"So, we got a lake monster on a binge?" Dean asked, leaning against the back of Sam's chair, also scanning the article.

"About that," Sam began, clicking on a link, opening a word document, "that whole lake monster theory is bugging me."

"Why?" Dean asked, still scanning.

"The loch ness monsters, Lake Champlain, there are literally hundreds of sightings, but this…practically nothing."

"Wait, Barr," Dean pointed at a name on the computer, "Christopher Barr, why does that name sound familiar?"

"Andrea," Amber stated, "I believe that was her last name."

Sam clicked on the name.

"Christopher Barr, the victim in May," Sam began, waiting until the link opened.

The page opened, revealing a picture of a young boy with long her wrapped in a towel standing in front of a few police officers. The boy they had met earlier at the police station.

"Oh my God!" Amber put a hand over her mouth, "That's Lucas."

"Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband," Sam read, "And Lucas' father."

Dean stood straight, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Apparently he took Lucas out swimming and Lucas was on a floating platform in the middle of the lake when Christopher was pulled under," Sam read, "he was out there for two hours before the kid got rescued."

Dean stiffened when he heard about Lucas. He sighed sadly. Amber looked over at him, her eyebrows furrowing at his concerned face,

"Dean?" she whispered, touching his shoulder gently, her face concerned.

"Maybe we have an eye witness after all," Sam said, scratching the back of his head.

"No wonder he was so freaked out. Watching your parents die isn't something you just get over," Dean looked at the floor for a moment, memories eating his insides.

Amber gently touched his back for a moment before touching his cheek and turning his face towards her,

"Hey," she whispered, kissing his lips gently.

Even the kiss didn't make him smirk.

------------------------

Amber stood in the shower, at first humming lightly to herself, but then the humming gradually turned into a strong voice.

_L'Amour est un oiseau rebelle  _

_Que nul ne peut apprivoiser _

_Et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle, _

_S'il lui convient de refuser. _

_Rien n'y fait, menace ou prière, _

_L'un parle bien, l'autre se tait;  _

_Et c'est l'autre que je préfère  _

_Il n'a rien dit; mais il me tient. _

As she stood in the shower, she did not hear Dean or Sam enter the hotel room, but they could hear her singing loud and clear. Her voice was strong and she was easily able to hit high c. Dean and Sam sat out in the room, Dean laying across the bed, Sam at his laptop. When Amber hit a high note, Dean sat up,

"Jesus, what the hell _is that_?" he cursed, shaking his head.

"I guess you've never heard of opera?" Sam smirked.

"Hey, I've heard of it, but I've never once heard anyone go that high," Dean remarked.

"Um, you've never heard it because if you have, you would know that a lot of singers can hit those notes," Sam smirked as she hit another high note, the words bouncing off the shower walls.

_L'Amour est un oiseau rebelle _

_L'Amour Que nul ne peut apprivoiser _

_L'Amour Et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle L'Amour_

_S'il lui convient de refuser L'Amour_

_L'Amour est enfant de Bohême,  _

_Il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi, _

_Si tu ne m'aime pas, je t'aime, _

_Si je t'aime, prend garde à toi! _

_Si tu ne m'aime pas si tu ne m'aimes pas je t'aime_

_Mais si je t'aime si je t'aime prends garde à toi!_

Amber held the last note as long as she possibly could, which happened to be a good thirty seconds.

"Bite me," Dean grinned, shooting Sam the middle finger jokingly.

They heard the water stop running and within five minutes Amber was opening the door to the bathroom. She stepped out dressed in a pair of tight jeans and the same pink halter-top, only this time she was not wearing a jacket over it. Her red air looked brown when it was wet, curling slightly as it dried. She shrieked, not expecting them to be back from visiting Andrea and her son.

"When did you guys get back?" she asked, turning bright red, knowing they could have heard her singing.

"A few minutes ago," Sam smiled at her reaction.

"What the hell was that?" Dean instantly asked, knowing that, even though he had made fun of it, she sounded fantastic.

Amber buried her face in her hands, shaking her head, embarrassed.

"I'm so embarrassed!" she stated, "It's…uh…opera…"

"I know what it is," Dean laughed, "but where did that come from?"

"Oh, I took opera lessons for 10 years," Amber laughed.

"Sounds good," Dean responded.

Amber let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God, I thought I was getting rusty," she laughed.

"If _that_ is what you call rusty," Dean began, "I would have like to hear you when you he joked.

She smiled.

"So what did you find out?" she asked.

Dean pulled out a drawing that looked as if a child had drawn it. It was a drawing of a house, a green house.

"Who drew that?" she asked.

"Lucas," Dean responded, as Amber stepped closer, sitting on the edge of the bed with Dean.

"Isn't that…?" she asked, realizing it was the Carlton house.

The opera song used at the end of this chapter was "Habanera". It was Charlotte Church's version. I was going to have her just sing regular pop songs like, I don't know, Christina Aguilera or something, but I sing opera, so I though it would be interesting to incorporate that into the character.


	20. Chapter 20: A Drawing and a Vision

I'll be changing some of the things around in the following chapters. I know Will drowns in the sink later in the evening, but I am going to make it happen earlier in the afternoon.

The song used towards the end of this chapter is "Is This Real?" by Lisa Hall.

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Chapter 20: A Drawing and A Vision

"Isn't that…?" she began.

"Yeah, Bill Carlton's place," Dean finished.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"There's nothing we really can do," Sam stated, leaning forward in the mahogany chair at the table, "we don't even know what it really means except that that is where his father drowned and the girl drowned."

"But maybe he would at least know what was out there," Amber spoke up as Dean folded the paper in four after looking it over once more.

It crinkled as he shoved it back into his jacket pocket.

"You could at least ask him if there was anything he saw," Amber said.

"He doesn't speak, remember?" Dean huffed in frustration, "a witness that doesn't speak….just great."

"Maybe he could draw you another picture…"Amber began.

"That's the thing, I didn't ask him to draw the _first_ picture," Dean said, staring at the floor, "I just…talked….to him. Tried to make him realize that he is not alone…"

Amber felt as if her heart was being squeezed tightly. As she sat there, listening to Dean, she realized that they all had something in common. The loss of a parent.

"But he drew that for you," Amber realized, "that has to mean something."

"Like what?" Dean sighed.

"That maybe he trusts you and feels safe around you," amber stated, "What did you say to him?"

"I just drew a picture for him," Dean said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know what to tell you, but maybe because you've tried harder than both of us to talk to him, he trusts you," Amber shrugged, running out of reasons Lucas, the little red-haired boy, could have drawn Dean the picture.

"Well, it's getting late, so we'll head over to Andrea's first thing in the morning to speak with Lucas, see if he will tell us anything that could help us," Sam stated, "but right now I'm going to go get some food at the nearest food store," Sam stood up, stretching.

"How you getting' there?" Dean asked from his spot beside Amber on the bed.

"The car," he said in a "duh" kind of way.

"Whose? Not mine," Dean said.

"Oh, come on," Sam whined.

"Dean!" Amber elbowed Dean.

"Ow!" he grunted, "Fine, fine, but don't crash it into a house this time!" Dean pointed at Sam before shoving his hand into his jacket pocket, finding the keys.

Dean pulled the car keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Sam.

"Wait, you crashed his car?" Amber looked up at Sam, shocked, but smiling, "his beloved car!" Amber said sarcastically, touching her hand to her chest over her heart.

"Yes, my car!" Dean pretended to be angry.

"Hey! We had to get rid of the white woman somehow!" Sam said, "and I didn't even scratch it!"

"Yeah, yeah, go buy the food," Dean shook his head.

"Sure, I'll see you guys later," Sam said, turning and heading towards the door.

"How much later?" Dean asked, looking over at Amber and grinning from ear to ear.

Amber looked over at him and saw the face he was making, as did Sam as he turned around.

"That's just wrong!" Amber laughed.

"Dean, that's just gross!" Sam said, "I'm leaving!"

He said, opening the door then closing it loudly behind him.

After Dean was sure Sam was gone, he turned to Amber,

"So…?" Dean grinned, kissing her, "What do you want to do while Sammy's gone?"

_Twisted this feeling_

_Walk out of shape_

_So tired in revealing the moves that I make_

_And I know, yes I know_

_But is this real?_

_And I know, yes I know_

_But is this real?_

Amber kissed him in return, climbing on top of him, strattling him. Dean grinned, leaning back a little on the bed. He propped himself up on his elbows, grinning as they kissed. Amber leaned in close, their face an inch apart,

"I believe _this_ is perfect," she smiled, leaning down and kissing him on the lips.

_Feeling inconstant would drive me insane_

_Flesh to blood to bone to love_

_Twisted the way I like  
And I know, Yes I know_

_But is this real?_

_And I know, yes I know_

_But is this real?_

Dean leaned all the way back, pulling her on top of him. She laughed lightly as he grasped her roughly, pulling her on top of him. She put a hand on either side of his head and pushed herself upright, kissing him on the lips once again then she began moving down. She kissed his cheekbone then his neck then gently nipped at his neck, causing him to groan in pleasure and arch his back under her. She grinned, moving down to his collarbone then back to his neck. He made a growling sound beneath her then quickly grabbed her, flipping her onto her back and moving on top of her. She grinned up at him

_ Is_ _this real?_

_Twisted this feeling._

_Flesh. Blood. Bone. Love_

_Twisted this feeling_

_And I know, yes I know_

_But is this real?_

_And I know, yes I know_

It was his turn to make her groan, kissing her neck, running his one hand down her arm. Dean smirked, moving down to her stomach, lifting her shirt, gently running his fingers along her abdomen, giving her goose bumps. She groaned, then Dean grabbed her waist and lifted her onto his lap, their lips crashing into one another's. The kissed until they were out of breath.

_But is this real?_

_Flesh to bone to blood to love_

_Twisted the way I like_

_Is this real?_

Pulling apart, they kissed each other quickly on the lips before exploring each other's bodies. As she began to kiss his neck, she instantly pulled away, grasping her head in pain. Quickly she flung her legs over the side of the bed, keeling over.

"Fuck," she gasped.

Dean at first did not know what to do. He was surprised by her outburst, but when he saw that she was in pain, he practically jumped out of the hard hotel room bed and knelt in front of her, reaching to touch her knee, hesitating at first before actually resting his right hand on her knee.

"Amber?" Dean leaned to the right, looking up at her face, "Amber!" he panicked, not knowing what was wrong.

"My head," she kept repeating, her voice full of pain.

"Wha…what's wrong with your head…migrane…what?" Dean felt panicked, "What should I do?"

At that very moment, Sam pushed open the door to the hotel room.

"Guess what I saw?" Sam said, closing the door in frustration.

He turned and saw a panicked Dean kneeling next to Amber, who was holding her head in pain.

"What happened?" Sam asked, practically dropping the plastic bag on the bed closest to him.

"I don't know!" Dean practically shouted, throwing his hands up, "We were…uh…then she just pulled away and now…" he used his hands to motion to Amber.

Sam knelt beside Amber and touched her knee,

"Amber, what's wrong?"

She did not respond, only continued breathing heavy. After a few moments, she sat up, releasing her head, but still breathing heavily. Things were out of focus for a few moments and her nose had actually begun to bleed from the pressure.

"Jesus, get me a tissue," Dean turned to Sam.

Sam nodded and quickly got up, running into the bathroom and grabbing some tissues out of the tissue box beside the marble sink. When Sam came back, he handed the tissues to Dean, who had moved to sit beside Amber on the bed. He handed her the tissues and she dabbed at her bloody nose. Dean rubbed her back gently,

"What just happened?" he asked.

She rubbed her forehead slowly, exhaling, her breath shaky. At first she did not respond, she only inhaled and exhaled.

"Amber?" Sam asked, touching her knee as Dean moved strands of her waist-length hair out of her face.

"Will Carlton is dead," Amber stated, looking up at Sam then to Dean.

"How did you know?" Sam asked.

"How do you know…wait, what?" Dean began, but then when he heard Sam's statement and turned to Sam.


	21. Chapter 21: Moonlight Conversations

Thanks again for the reviews. I love the season premiere Thursday night! The ending was sad, but hey, it's "Supernatural", so John could somehow come back.

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Chapter 21: Moonlight Conversations and Confessions

"Will Carlton drown earlier," Sam said, standing up.

"In the lake?" Dean asked, looking between Amber and Sam.

"In the sink," Sam shook his head.

"What the _hell_?" Dean shook his head, looking over at Amber, who refused to look at either one of them now.

"How did you know?" Dean asked Amber.

She sighed,

"Amber!" Dean touched her shoulder, "Look at me!"

Amber looked up at Dean with tears in her eyes.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What do you mean?" Dean and Sam asked, Sam knowing perfectly well what was going on because he had experience the same thing before Jessica's death, only in dream form.

"I just saw his death. Well, parts of it. He was standing at the sink making something….the sink backed up, he stuck his hand in and something pulled him face first into the sink and held him under until he died," Amber said.

More tears spilled down her cheeks,

"I…" she began, but stopped.

"You what?" Sam asked, touching her shoulder.

"I saw my family's death," she cried, "a month before it happened. I kept having these dreams and day by day they became more and more real then I started having those pains during the day and I would see things during the day too."

"That's why you left the beach that night in a hurry," Dean said partially to himself, partially to her.

She nodded, closing her eyes, allowing more tears to fall.

"So, you're telling me you have this…'shining'…" Dean asked, looking over at Amber then back down at the ground seeing her nod in response, "great," Dean muttered.

Amber sighed,

"I need an aspirin," she muttered, standing up.

As she stood up, the room began to spin. She collapsed on the bed.

Dean and Sam each caught her,

"Here, lay back," Dean slowly leaned her back, propping her head up on two pillows.

"I'll get the aspirin," Sam said, walking over to her small duffle bag and purse, "Where are they?" he asked from across the room.

Amber had her eyes closed and a hand over her eyes as she lay back against the pillows. Dean sat beside her, watching her.

"The bottle's in my purse," Amber said, "Feel free to root through it until you find the bottle," she muttered.

Dean touched her forehead then ran his hand through her hair.

"We'll figure this out," Dean told her quietly.

Sam appeared on the left side of the bed with a glass of water. Amber sat up, her head still spinning,

"Whoa," she muttered as Dean placed a supportive hand on her back and helped her sit up.

"Here," Sam handed her the pill then gave her the glass of water after she had placed the pill in her mouth.

Amber took one large gulp of water then sat the glass down on the nightstand beside her. Dean helped her lay back down. He continued to sit beside her as Sam sat down on his bed.

"So, when did he die?" Dean asked Sam.

"Not long ago," Sam responded, "I drove past their house and there was an ambulance and some cop cars. His father was outside, that's how I know it was the son."

"We'll go over there first thing in the morning," Dean said, noting that the sun was beginning to go down.

"Well, you know I'm fine with staying in for the night," Amber muttered from her spot on the bed.

Dean grinned down at her.

She awoke hours later to soft snoring coming from Sam's side of the room. She smiled sleepily. Her hand rested inches from her face on Dean's chest, his hand covering hers. His head was turned to the right, facing her, his eyes closed. She pushed herself upright and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It read 12:30 am. Amber did not know that she needed that much sleep, but it felt great. Feeling fully rested, she gently climbed out of the bed, the room no longer spinning.

She tiptoed over to her suitcase where he denim jacket was thrown and put it on along. Walking over to the door, she looked back at Dean one more time before opening the door then closing it behind her. Dean stirred at the sound of the door closing, pulling a gun out from under his pillow. He realized that Amber was no longer beside him. Standing up, he walked over to the door and walking out in the cool night air in a pair of boxers and a white t-shirt, clinging to his body. He found Amber standing at the corner, arms folded across her chest in her denim jacket, jeans and hot pink halter top. He found himself watching her from his position in front of the hotel door, arms crossed, leaning against the frame of the door.

Amber stood watching the wind gently blowing the leaves on the trees, the wind also blowing her long hair. She smiled when she felt strong arms wrap themselves around her waist and a chin rest gently on her right shoulder.

"Hey Dean," she smiled as he kissed her on her right cheek.

"How'd you know it was me?" Dean asked, "part of the 'shining'?"

No, not part of the _shining_," she mimicked, "I can _feel_ other people, not everyone else, but certain people."

He nodded, not making a joke like he could have.

"How? What do you mean 'feel'?" Dean asked.

"I don't know…I can feel their presence…their life force," she started, "I really can't explain it," she sighed, leaning into him.

He kissed her neck and she sighed happily, causing him to smile into her neck. He felt the words bubbling up inside of him, but he could not bring himself to say them to her, not yet. He feared it was too early and she would be scared off. Little did he know that she felt the same way, hence, the standing out in the cold watching the stray cars drive by and the stars twinkle in the black, fall sky. He shifted behind her,

"Amber..I.." he stumbled over his words, "I…I mean…I don't know if you feel the same way…I mean…I can wait, but…"

Amber's heart skipped a beat. She turned in his arms, placing her hands on his shoulders, looking him in the eyes.

"I just figured, you and I, we have some things in common," Dean continued saying, "but if this is too soon, tell me…"

Amber cupped his cheek with her right hand,

"I love you, too, Dean," she smiled.

"I knew it," Dean said, "wait, what!"

She smiled up at him and grabbed his t-shirt, pulling him towards her, pressing her lips to his. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity under the stars, the fall moon shining brightly on them at that moment, clouds rolling in a good distance from them. Her hair whipped around them, leaves falling from small trees. At tat moment they seemed to be the only people on the Earth and nothing bad had ever happened to Dean's mother or Amber's family. They were normal people. They pulled apart and Dean rubbed her arms,

"Come on, let's get back inside, it's freezing out here," he grasped her tiny hand and led her back towards the hotel room door and back into the warm bed.

Dean lay on his back and Amber curled up beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and she placed her hand on his chest. He kissed her on the forehead and pulled her closer. That night they both slept better than they have ever slept.


	22. Chapter 22: A Brother's Confession

Chapter 22: A Brother's Confession

"Rise and Shine," she heard Dean saying to her.

Amber grumbled and rolled onto her right side, turning away from Dean and rolling off his chest.

"C'mon, babe, we've got a lot of stuff to do," he leaned over her, whispering in her ear.

She grunted and pulled the hotel blanket up over her head,

"What time is it?" she asked from her spot under the blanket.

Quarter to nine," Dean said, grabbing the top of the blanket and pulling it up over his head.

Amber rolled onto her back in order to look over at Dean, hair covering her face. Dean moved her hair off her face,

"I know Amber is under there somewhere," he grinned.

She smiled up at him, adjusting her skin-colored halter bra. She had removed her pink halter top before climbing back into bed with Dean earlier in the morning. Her jeans had also been removed, leaving her in her black lacy underwear.

"I really don't want to get up," she whined.

"Not much of a morning person, are you?" Dean leaned down and pressed a kiss to her pink lips.

"How could you tell?" she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Guess what?" Dean asked.

"What?" Amber furrowed her eyebrows.

"This," Dean said, yanking the covers down to their waists.

"Oh, God!" Amber cried out, covering her eyes, "Don't do that again!" she pointed at him, laughing, "I can't see now!"

"Rise and Shine," Dean climbed out of bed.

"Ugh," she groaned, sitting upright, quickly covering herself when she saw Sam sitting at his laptop.

Dean stood beside the bed in his boxers and white t-shirt, arms folded across his muscular chest,

"Well, you better get used to this, sweetheart, this is normal for us," he said.

Amber slapped her hand down on the bed, pushing herself out of bed,

"Not for me," she muttered, wrapping a sheet around herself.

Dean smirked as she pulled the white sheet off of the bed, grunting as she did, watching the muscles in her arms bulge as she did so. He leaned forward ever so slightly to see the rounded bottom of her butt slightly sticking out of her black lacy underwear. When she looked up at him while bending over to pull the sheets off the bed, she saw Dean instantly straighten up,

"Hey!" she laughed, pointing at him.

Amber walked over to her messenger bag and pulled out a black pencil skirt and a white spaghetti strap shirt with lace on it. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her after pulling the sheet off and throwing it towards the bed.

Two hours later they found themselves standing on a dock behind Bill Carlton's log home. The man sat staring out at the water, tears in his eyes. The sky was grey and it looked like rain. The leaves of the trees lining the lake were bright green and reflected off of the water. Birds chirped in the distance and the sound of moving water filled their ears along with toads dwelling in the lake.

Bill Carlton had his back turned to them as they approached, but he did not bother to turn as their footsteps increasingly got louder until they were right behind him.

"Mr. Carlton," Dean called quietly as they approached.

He did not bother to move, he only looked up once at them as they stood beside him on the light wooden dock.

"We would like to ask you a few questions," Sam began, putting his hands in his dark bluish-gray jacket, "if you don't mind."

"We're from the department…" Dean began.

"I don't care who you are with," Bill Carlton was on the verge of crying, "I've already answered enough questions today."

Dean looked over at Sam and nodded.

"Your son said he saw something in the lake, how about you? Did you ever see something in the lake?" Sam pressed on, "Mr. Carlton, Sofie's drowning and Will's death…we think there may be a connection to you or your family," Sam said calmly.

"My children are gone," he cried out, "it…it's worse than dying," tears filled his eyes, "Go away….please," the poor man said, looking out at the lake, crying.

Amber touched Dean's arm and nodded towards the car. Dean nudged Sam and they thanked Bill for his time and proceeded to walk off of the dock, leaving Bill to the peaceful sound of birds chirping and frogs croaking. Gravel crunched beneath their feet as they approached Dean's Impala.

"What do you think?" Amber asked, leaning up against the car.

"I think the poor guy's been through Hell," Dean said, "and I also think there's something he's not telling us," Dean said, turning to face the house,

"what? What is it?" Sam asked.

"Huh, maybe it's time we pay Lucas a visit," Dean said.

"Don't you think that will be a little awkward, showing up at her house?" Amber asked.

"We need to figure this out," Sam said, "So I guess we're going to see Lucas."

Amber nodded and climbed in to the backseat of the Impala, behind Dean. Dean and Sam climbed in at the same time, closing the doors. Dean started the engine and pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Andrea's home.

They arrived at her home not even an hour later, pulling in front of her home. They each climbed out of the Impala and walked towards the front door of the large white house by the lake. Dean stood to the right with Amber between him and Sam beside her. Dean rung the doorbell and moments later a young woman with long-brown, curly hair answered the door.

"Can we come in?" Dean instantly asked.

Andrea furrowed her brows in confusion,

"Yeah, sure," she pulled the door open further to allow them each in.

Andrea led them through the house to the kitchen with large windows lining the wall facing the lake.

"I need to speak with Lucas," Dean said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that's a good idea," Andrea said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Andrea, please, just for a few minutes," Dean continued.

"He won't say anything," Andrea said in frustration, "What good's it gonna do?

"Andrea, we think more people might get hurt, we think something is happening out there," Sam tried to help.

"My husband, the others, they just drowned, that's all," Andrea said, sighing.

"If that's what you really believe, we'll go, but if you think for one moment that there's something more going on here, please let me talk to your son," Dean said firmly.

Andrea sighed in frustration, but she said,

"Alright, but _only_ for a few minutes."

She led them up the stairs from the kitchen that seemed to be hidden beside the refrigerator. The wooden stairs spiraled and stopped at the top of the landing. A dark hallway stood before them and to the left was the bathroom and the right, Andrea's room followed by Lucas' room on the left, beside the bathroom. Lucas sat on his bedroom floor in a black long-sleeved shirt and jeans, playing with toy soldiers, drawings lying all over the light blue rug. They watched from the doorway for a moment before Dean walked into the room, crouching in front of Lucas,

"Hey Lucas, remember me?" he asked quietly, "You know, I wanted to thank you for the last drawing, but the thing is…I need your help again," Dean pulled out the first drawing from his pocket and lay it in front of him.

Dean paused for a moment as Lucas looked up at the drawing then continued to play with the soldiers,

"How did you know to draw this?" he asked as Amber, Sam and Andrea continued to stand in the doorway, Sam and Amber leaning against the doorframe.

"Did you know something bad was going to happen," he asked, but receieved no response from Lucas, "Maybe you could nod yes or no for me?"

Dean looked at Lucas, placing his hands in his lap as he continued to crouch in front of the doorway.

"You're scared," Dean finally said, feeling sympathetic, "It's okay, I understand, see when I was your age I saw something really bad happen to my mom and I was scared to," he said, voice cracking slightly, causing Sam to tilt his head to the right and look at him,, amazed that his brother was capable of emotion.

They were sharing a moment, unbeknownst to Dean. Amber could tell by watching Sam's expression that this was something Sam was not aware of.

"I didn't feel like talkin'," Dean almost whispered, but see, my mom, I know she'd want me to be brave. I think about that everyday. And I do my best to be brave," Dean said, the last sentence a struggle to get out, "and maybe your dad would want you to be brave too."

Lucas looked up from his drawings and stared at Dean for a few moments, blue eyes wide before handing Dean another drawing.


	23. Chapter 23: The Church

Sorry this chapter is short. 1)I wanted to update and 2) I couldn't get rid of the page break near the bottom and it was starting to frustrate me.

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Chapter 23: The Church

"Andrea said that Lucas didn't draw like that until his father died," Dean said as they drove along a road.

Sam held the most recent drawing in his hand as Amber leaned forward, arms resting on the front seat. She rested her chin on the back of the seat, looking at the drawing.

"Well, there's a chance that going through a traumatic experience could make certain people more sensitive to premonitions…psychic tendencies," Sam said, looking at the drawing in his hand of a white church with pointed tower.

"Well, whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?" Dean asked, periodically looking over at Sam from the driver's seat, "I mean it's only a matter of time before it gets someone else."

"I guess we have to go house hunting again," Sam said.

"The only problem is that there are over 1000 year old two stories in this county alone," Dean said, frustrated.

"You see that church?" Sam pointed to the church in the drawing, "I bet there are less than a thousand of those."

"Ohh, college boy thinks he's so smart," Dean said with a funny accent, causing Sam to laugh and roll his eyes and Amber just to roll her eyes, leaning back in the seat.

Sam hesitated for a few moments, trying to find the right words,

"You know," Sam began, "what you said about mom back there," Sam turned his head to look at Dean, "you never told me that before."

Dean kept his eyes on the road, playing the tough guy,

"It's no big deal."

Sam questioningly raised his eyebrows and after a few moments of silence, Dean turned to face Sam,

"Oh, God, we're not going to have to hug or anything, are we?" he said in disgust.

Sam smirked and Amber laughed to herself. She knew he was capable of being more caring, especially after what happened the night before, but she also knew that he was trying to be strong for his younger brother. Amber leaned back in her seat and looked out the back window of the Impala. Trees passed by and eventually the trees turned to homes and soon they were in a small town. She turned her head to the left and saw a large white church like in the drawing that Lucas had made for Dean.

"Hey guys, look," she said, leaning forward over the front seat and pointing to the left.

Dean turned his head and followed her slim finger and saw what she was pointing at. He made a sharp turn into the parking lot, causing Amber to fly backwards and slide across the seat. He stopped the car suddenly, causing Sam and Amber to fly forward. When he stopped the car, he turned to both of them and smirked,

"Sorry, almost missed the turn."

"Oh, you liar!" Amber pointed at Dean.

"You did that on purpose!" Sam opened the car door.

"Who me?" Dean asked, pointing to himself, pulling the keys out of the ignition, "Never!" he said, opening the car door and winking at them before climbing out.

"Son of a bitch," Amber shook her head, "How do you put up with him?" she asked Sam.

"Good question," was his reply as he climbed out of the car.

Amber climbed out and closed the door behind her, walking up to Sam and Dean, who both held the drawing up in front of them.

"Looks like the church to me," Amber said, walking up behind Dean, placing a hand on his shoulder, "but who's that?" she asked, pointing to the little kid in the picture standing next to a bright red bicycle.

The kid was drawn wearing a baseball hat and he and the bike were in front of a yellow and green home with a wooden fence. Trees and bushed rose over the light wooden fence and surrounded the home he stood in front of. Sam looked up from the drawing first and looked across the street from the church and saw the same exact house. He looked over at Dean then proceeded to look up at the church.

"This is really starting to freak me out," Amber said from behind them.

Dean looked back at her,

"More than the wendigo?" he asked, grinning.

"Now that you mentioned it, no, not more than the wendigo," Amber said, looking over at the house, Dean continuing to watch her for a few moments more, she looked back at him and saw that he was still staring at her. She smiled at him and blushed lightly, looking him in the eye,

"What?"

"Nothin'," he shrugged.

Amber stuck her tongue out at him playfully before following Sam across the street.

"Oh no you don't!" Dean ran over to her and grabbed her upper arm; he turned her towards him and quickly kissed her lips.

"Not here, not right now," she whispered, "later. We've got work to do."

"I'll hold ya to it," Dean said, proceeding to follow his brother to the house.


End file.
